continuus

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm

Proto-Italic *kom

Proto-Italic *kom-

Latin con-

Proto-Indo-European *ten-

Proto-Indo-European *tn̥-eh₁-(ye)-tider.

Proto-Italic *tenēō

Latin teneō

Latin contin(eō)

Proto-Indo-European *-wós

Proto-Italic *-wos

Latin -uus

Latin continuus

From contin(eō) (“to hold together”) + -uus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [kɔnˈtɪ.nu.ʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [konˈtiː.nu.us]

Adjective

continuus (feminine continua, neuter continuum, adverb continuō); first/second-declension adjective

1. continuous, uninterrupted, successive, lasting

   Synonyms: continuātus, diuturnus

2. (temporal) straight, in a row, whole

   Biennio continuo post adeptum imperium ― For two whole years after assuming power

3. (temporal) following one after another, successive, succeeding, continuous; i.e. the next [day], the following [night]
   • 8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 5.734:

     continuāque diē sīdus Hyantis erit

     [...] and on the next day, the asterism of Hyas will be [seen].
     (See: Hyas; Hyades.)

   • 8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 6.720:

     continuā Delphīn nocte videndus erit

     On the following night, the Dolphin will be visible.
     (See: Delphinus.)

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	continuus	continua	continuum		continuī	continuae	continua
genitive	continuī	continuae	continuī		continuōrum	continuārum	continuōrum
dative	continuō	continuae	continuō		continuīs
accusative	continuum	continuam	continuum		continuōs	continuās	continua
ablative	continuō	continuā	continuō		continuīs
vocative	continue	continua	continuum		continuī	continuae	continua

Derived terms

• continuō (adverb)
• continuō (verb)

Descendants

• Catalan: continu
• → Dutch: continu
• → English: continuous
• Extremaduran: continuu
• French: continu
• → German: kontinuierlich
• Italian: continuo
• → Maltese: kontinwu
• Mirandese: cuntino
• Portuguese: contínuo
• Romanian: continuu
• Sicilian: cuntìnuu
• Spanish: continuo

References

• “continuus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “continuus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "continuus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “continuus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • an allegory; continuous metaphor: continua translatio (Or. 27. 94)