I've always used the term contractor to describe the type of engagement I have towards my clients. Basically, it mean that I'm not a permanent employee but rather a temporarily hired expert with the aim of delivering a specialized service. Basically a temp but with highly specific skill set.
Today, I've read an article that used the term contractor in the opposite sense. The contractor in this sense is the one that is asking someone to do something, not the one being asked.
... risk it too much. So he asked his contractors to give him several days for preparations. And he ...
Once I started thinking about it, it hit me that the (to me) unusual application of the term actually makes a lot more sense. If A proposes a contract and B accespts it, then A has contracted B, making A a contractor and B a contractee (just like A would be an employer and B an employee).
How should we treat the term in question? Have I been a contractee unawarely?