Continent

How to spell continent

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce continent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does continent mean?

1. nounOne of the earth's main continuous expanses of land, such as Africa or Europe.

Continent in a sentence

• Africa is the second largest continent by area.

• The explorers were the first Europeans to cross the continent on foot.

Where does continent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin continere, meaning 'to hold together' or 'to contain', formed from con- 'together' and tenere 'to hold'. Its present participle continens literally described something 'holding together' or 'continuous', and in the phrase terra continens it meant 'continuous land', an unbroken stretch of ground. English borrowed it through French in the 1500s, at first as an adjective meaning self-restrained or able to hold oneself in check, and only later as the noun for one of the great unbroken landmasses of the earth. The same tenere root that gives the silent middle of 'continent' also lies behind 'contain', 'retain' and 'tenant', all sharing the idea of holding. That shared 'hold' sense is a useful memory hook: the tricky unstressed -ti- in the middle is the old 'hold' element, not a casual filler.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• tin (hold, from Latin tenere)
• -ent (adjective/noun suffix)