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.
&fist; 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.
