Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Continent?

\Con"ti*nent\, a. [L. continens, -entis, prop., p. pr. of continere to hold together, to repress: cf. F. continent. See {Contain}.] 1. Serving to restrain or limit; restraining; opposing. [Obs.] --Shak. 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. --Shak. 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. --Shak. 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. --Berrewood.
\Con"ti*nent\, n. [L. continens, prop., a holding together: cf. F. continent. See {Continent}, a.] 1. That which contains anything; a receptacle. [Obs.] The smaller continent which we call a pipkin. --Bp. Kennet. 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.