What is "contra"

Contra \Con"tra\ A Latin adverb and preposition, signifying against, contrary, in opposition, etc., entering as a prefix into the composition of many English words. Cf. Counter, adv. & pref.

1981, "anti-Sandinista Nicaraguan," short for Spanish contrarrevolucionario "counter-revolutionary."

mid-14c., from Latin contra (prep. and adv.) "against," originally "in comparison with," ablative singular feminine of *com-teros, from Old Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + -tr, zero degree of the comparative suffix -ter-.

adv. to the contrary to something n. 1 (label en business) a deal to swap goods or services 2 (label en accounting) an entry that cancels another entry 3 (label en music informal) any of the musical instruments in the contrabass range, e.g. contrabassoon, contrabass clarinet or, especially, double bass 4 contra dance prep. against; contrary or opposed to

, distributed as Gryzor in Europe and Oceania, is a run and gun action game developed and published by Konami originally released as a coin-operated arcade game on February 20, 1987. A home version was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in , along with ports for various computer formats, including the MSX2. The home versions were localized in the PAL region as Gryzor on the various computer formats and as Probotector on the NES, released later. Several Contra sequels were produced following the original game. The name of the game refers to the Contras, a group of CIA-backed Nicaraguan rebels who were frequently in the news in the United States in that period.

Contra may also refer to:

is a video game series produced by Konami composed primarily of run and gun-style shoot-'em-ups. The series debuted in as a coin-operated arcade game simply titled Contra, which was followed by the release of Super Contra in and several sequels produced for various home platforms.

The in-universe use of the term "Contra" is first explained within the Japanese instruction card of the arcade version of Contra, and reiterated in most games (including Contra: Shattered Soldier), as "a title awarded to a superior soldier possessing almost super human drive and ability, while excelling in guerrilla tactics".

In Japanese, the title is spelled with the kanji characters or Kontora. This is a form of ateji, in which the characters are used for their phonetic pronunciations rather than any inherent meaning they may have.

The arcade version of Contra was released on February 1987, a few months after the Iran–Contra affair was made public. While it is unclear whether the game was deliberately named after the Nicaraguan Contra rebels, the ending theme of the original game was titled , after the adversaries of the real-life Contras.

Contra is the second studio album by the American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released in January 2010 on XL Recordings. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. The album title is intended as a thematic allegory and a complex reference to the Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries, the 1980 album Sandinista! by The Clash, and partially to the Contra video game.

The album was recognized as one of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far by Pitchfork Media in August 2014.