The Eggcorn Database - v. 0.5

Contend (v.) derives from Latin contendere (stretch out, strive after) and contain (v.) from continere (hold together), so both go back to the same root. The adjective content (in the sense of “satisfied”) confuses the issue further. There is a continuum of meanings stretching from “struggling against something” via “reluctantly putting up with something” and “accepting the presence of something ” to “being satisfied about something”. So it is no wonder that a Google search for “[ need | needs | has | have] to content with” throws up results that fall on any point on this scale, most of them somewhere around the “put up with” point.