continual
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also continuous#Usage notes
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[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
- continuall (obsolete)
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English continuel, from Old French continuel, from Latin continuus (“continuous”)
[edit] Pronunciation
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Audio (US) (file)
[edit] Adjective
continual (not comparable)
- Recurring in steady, rapid succession.
- (proscribed) Seemingly continuous; appearing to have no end or interruption.
- (proscribed) Forming a continuous series.
[edit] Usage notes
In careful usage, continual refers to repeated actions “continual objections”, while continuous refers to uninterrupted actions or objects “continuous flow”, “played music continuously from dusk to dawn”.[1] However, this distinction is not observed in informal usage, a noted example being the magic spell name “continual light” (unbroken light), in the game Dungeons & Dragons.
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
appearing to have no end or interruption
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recurring in steady, rapid succession
forming a continuous series
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Translations to be checked
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[edit] References
- ^ “continual/continuous”, Brians, Paul Common Errors in English Usage, (2nd Edition, November 17, 2008), William, James & Company, 304 pp., ISBN 978-1-59028207-6
[edit] External links
- continual in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- continual in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
