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con·ti·nent¹

(kŏntə-nənt)

1. One of the principal land masses of the earth, usually regarded as including Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

2. Continent The mainland of Europe. Used with the.

[Latin (terra) continēns, continent-, continuous (land), present participle of continēre, to hold together; see CONTAIN.]

con·ti·nent²

(kŏntə-nənt)

adj.

Exercising continence.

[Middle English, from Latin continēns, present participle of continēre, to restrain; see CONTAIN.]

conti·nent·ly adv.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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