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“continent”
1. Those parts of the world's primary continuous expanses of land (Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America): "Europe is one of the seven continents in the world."
2. Etymology: from Latin terra continens, "continuous land" or literally, "the land that holds together". At first, in the 16th century, it referred to any large continuous expanse of territory; and then from the early 17th century onward, it was specifically applied to any of the Earth's major landmasses.
2. Etymology: from Latin terra continens, "continuous land" or literally, "the land that holds together". At first, in the 16th century, it referred to any large continuous expanse of territory; and then from the early 17th century onward, it was specifically applied to any of the Earth's major landmasses.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Geography Terms +
(page 3)
(the first Latin words to find their way into the English language owe their adoption to the early contact between the Roman and the Germanic tribes on the European continent and Greek came with Latin and French while others were borrowed directly; especially, in the fields of science and technology)