CONTINENT • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Continent

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/kˈɑntənənt/ Listen

noun

Continent n.

1.

That which contains anything; a receptacle. (Obs.) "The smaller continent which we call a pipkin."

2.

One of the grand divisions of land on the globe; the main land; specifically (Phys. Geog.), a large body of land differing from an island, not merely in its size, but in its structure, which is that of a large basin bordered by mountain chains; as, the continent of North America. Note: The continents are now usually regarded as six in number: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. But other large bodies of land are also reffered to as continents; as, the Antarctic continent; the continent of Greenland. Europe, Asia, and Africa are often grouped together as the Eastern Continent, and North and South America as the Western Continent.

The Continent, the main land of Europe, as distinguished from the islands, especially from England.

adjective

Continent adj.

1.

Serving to restrain or limit; restraining; opposing. (Obs.)

2.

Exercising restraint as to the indulgence of desires or passions; temperate; moderate. "Have a continent forbearance till the speed of his rage goes slower."

3.

Abstaining from sexual intercourse; exercising restraint upon the sexual appetite; esp., abstaining from illicit sexual intercourse; chaste. "My past life" "Hath been as continent, as chaste, as true," "As I am now unhappy."

4.

Not interrupted; connected; continuous; as, a continent fever. (Obs.) "The northeast part of Asia is, if not continent with the west side of America, yet certainly it is the least disoined by sea of all that coast."

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Etymology of 'Continent'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Continent" Quotes from Famous Books

... of the young California grandee, dark and dashing and reckless, lithe of figure, thoroughbred, ardent. His eyes were sparkling at the prospect of excitement; not only had the Russians, by their nefarious appropriation of the northwestern corner of the continent and a recent piratical excursion in pursuit of otter, inspired the Spanish Government with a profound disapproval and mistrust, but a rumor had run up the coast that made every sea-gull look like the herald of a hostile fleet. This was young Arguello's ...

— Rezanov • Gertrude Atherton

... Reynolds, your name sounds to me like the name of a friend; for I had once a friend of that name: I once had the pleasure (and a very great pleasure it was to me) to be intimately acquainted abroad, on the continent, with a very amiable and ...

— Tales and Novels, Vol. 6 • Maria Edgeworth

... spoke of his general comprehensiveness and creativeness, of his method of characterization, and of the identity of his genius with his individuality. In the present article we purpose to treat of some particular topics included in the general theme; and as criticism on him is like coasting along a continent, we shall make little pretension to system in the order ...

— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 118, August, 1867 • Various

... the ridge sobered him, but he reviewed the events of the night without regret. Every young officer in the service would envy him this adventure. At military posts scattered across the continent men whom he knew well were either abroad on duty, or slept the sleep of peace. He lifted his eyes to the paling stars. Before long bugle and morning gun would announce the new day at points all along the seaboard. His West Point ...

— The Port of Missing Men • Meredith Nicholson

... sense of home and the tale of a journey done. Such a journey this man had made as few have ever attempted, and fewer accomplished. To the farthermost regions of snow and ice, where the shoulder of a continent juts out into the northwestern Arctic seas, he had travelled on foot and alone, save for his dogs, and for Indian guides, who now and then shepherded him from point to point. The vast ice-hummocks had been his housing, pemmican, the raw ...

— The Judgment House • Gilbert Parker

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