Etymologically
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kənˈtɪn.juː/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English contynuen, borrowed from Old French continuer and directly borrowed from Latin continuāre (“to join together, make continuous”),[2][3][4] from continuus (“uninterrupted, continuous”),[2][4] from continēre (“to hold together”),[2][3] the source of contain.[4][3] The SOED notes that some senses were influenced by contain.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

“To keep up, maintain, go on with”: before 1340[6] or about 1340[3] or the mid-14th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

“To go forward, persevere in” is from the late 14th century,[2] and “to cause to last” from about 1380.[6] “To resume after a break”, as of a narrative, is from the early 15th century,[2] 1425 in the OED.[6] “To remain in a place, state or office” is also from the early 15th century.[2] In law, “to postpone a hearing or trial” is from the mid-15th century[2] or 1469, especially in Scotland.[6] “To extend from one point to another” in space is from the 1660s.[2][6]

Timeline

  • c. 1340 – to maintain, go on with.[3][6]
  • late 14th century – to go on, persevere.[2]
  • c. 1425 – to resume.[6]
  • early 15th century – to remain in a state.[2]
  • 1469 – to adjourn a case.[6]
  • 1660s – to extend in space.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To go on with an action or in a state; to persist.
  2. To last over a long period.
  3. To remain in the same place, condition or office.
  4. To resume after an interruption.
  5. To extend further in space or time.
  6. (law) To postpone or adjourn.

Word family

  • continuable
  • continuer
  • continuingly
  • continuant
  • continual
  • continually
  • continuation
  • continuative
  • contain
  • continent
  • continental
  • continuity
  • continuous
  • continuum
  • discontinue

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press