|dis+ adjective
Etymology: Medieval Latin discontinuus, from Latin dis- dis- (I) + continuus continuous — more at continuous
1. obsolete : causing discontinuity : gaping
with discontinuous wound — John Milton
2.
a. : not continuous : marked by breaks or gaps
a discontinuous mosaic of better watered and settled territory, embedded … in wide expanses of arid or semiarid land — Geographical Journal
the boy received a very jumbled and discontinuous schooling — Louis Kronenberger
: not continued : discrete , separate
here and there were conspicuous elevations … but they were discontinuous features, not useful as regional boundaries — R.H.Brown
: lacking logical or organic sequence or coherence
a series of discontinuous events
the tone poem is gay and always entertaining, but a trifle discontinuous
b. mathematics : having one or more discontinuities — used of a variable or a function
c. of a linguistic form : consisting of parts that are separated by other linguistic units of the same order or by parts of such units (as French ne … pas “not” in je ne sais pas “I do not know”)
discontinuous morphemes
discontinuous phonemes
• discontinuously adverb
• discontinuousness noun -es