adjective

1. Obsolete touching; tangential
2. that may or may not happen; possible
3. happening by chance; accidental; fortuitous
4. unpredictable because dependent on chance
5. dependent (on or upon something uncertain); conditional
6. Logic true only under certain conditions or in certain contexts; not always or necessarily true
7. Philos. not subject to determinism; free

Etymology: L contingens, prp. of contingere, to touch: see contact

noun

1. Now Rare an accidental or chance happening
2. a share or quota, as of troops, laborers, delegates, etc.
3. a group forming part of a larger group