I. ˈkän-tə-nənt adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin continent-, continens, from present participle of continēre to hold in — more at contain
Date: 14th century
1. : exercising continence
2. obsolete : restrictive
• con·ti·nent·ly adverb
II. ˈkän-tə-nənt, ˈkänt-nənt noun
Etymology: in senses 1 & 2, from Latin continent-, continens, present participle of continēre, to hold together, contain; in senses 3 & 4, from Latin continent-, continens continuous mass of land, mainland, from continent-, continens, present participle
Date: 1541
1. archaic : container , confines
2. archaic : epitome
3. : mainland
4.
a. : one of the six or seven great divisions of land on the globe
b. capitalized : the continent of Europe — used with the