Continuation

How to spell continuation

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce continuation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does continuation mean?

1. nounThe act of carrying something on, or the part that follows on from what came before.

Continuation in a sentence

• The meeting was simply a continuation of yesterday's discussion.

• Funding for the project depends on the continuation of the grant.

Where does continuation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb continuare, meaning 'to join together' or 'to make unbroken', which was built on continuus 'uninterrupted', itself from continere 'to hold together'. At the heart of the whole family sits the simple Latin verb tenere, 'to hold', a root that also gives us 'tenant', 'retain' and 'contain'. The noun form continuationem described an unbroken extension or carrying on, and it travelled into English through Old French during the late 1300s. The spelling preserves the smooth -tinu- core followed by the standard noun ending -ation, and the trap for adult writers is precisely that calm sequence of vowels: the unstressed 'u' before -ation and the single 'n' after 'con' both invite slips. Knowing that the 'tinu' part comes straight from 'continue' anchors the spelling neatly.

How the word is built

• con- (together, intensive)
• tinu- (from tenere: to hold)
• -ation (noun of action)