Meaning

noun a gathering of persons representative of some larger group

noun a temporary military unit

adjective possible but not certain to occur

originFrom Middle English, from Old French contingent (whence con- and -ent), from Medieval Latin contingens (“possible, contingent”), present participle of contingere (“to touch, meet, attain to, happen”), from com- (“together”) + tangere (“to touch”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0