contre-, prefix
F. contre:—L. contrā, in OF. also cuntre, has regularly given in Eng. counter, q.v. Contre- occurs only as an earlier form of counter-, an occasional obsolete variant of contra-, and in a few modern French words and phrases adopted since 1600. It is frequent in heraldic terms, as contre-bandé, contre-barré, contre-changed, contre-componé, etc.; but these have also English forms in counter-, under which they will be found.