contestant
UK: kənˈtɛstənt | US: kənˈtɛstənt
n. a person who takes part in a competition or contest
n. a participant in a legal dispute or challenge
The word "contestant" derives from the Latin contestari, meaning "to call to witness" or "to dispute." The morpheme "contest" evolved through Old French (contester) to mean "to compete or challenge," while the suffix "-ant" (from Latin -antem) denotes a person performing an action. Thus, a "contestant" is literally "one who competes." The term reflects the adversarial or competitive nature of its root, originally tied to legal disputes but later generalized to any competitive context.
The contestant answered all the quiz questions correctly.
She was the youngest contestant in the singing competition.
Each contestant must follow the rules of the game.
The judge praised the contestant's originality.
He trained for months before becoming a contestant on the show.