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continuous

Etymology and origin of the English word continuous

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1642
Borrowed from
Latin continuus
Ultimate origin
Latin (teneo)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin continuus
English continuous
Latin continuo

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kənˈtɪn.juː.əs/, /-(j)ɪu̯.əs/[1]

Etymology

It is French continueus or directly borrowed from Latin continuus (“joining, connecting; uninterrupted”) and -ous,[2][3][4][5] from continēre (“to hang together”) (see contain), from con- (“together”) and tenēre (“to hold”).[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Characterized by continuity: the 1640s in Etymonline, a figurative use in 1642 in the OED;[2][6] extending in space without a break, 1673.[6][3]

Semantic evolution

Uninterrupted in time or sequence, of actions and immaterial things, is from 1751.[6] In grammar, a continuous tense or aspect expresses ongoing action (1887).[6] Continuous assessment of pupils' work is from 1959.[6] In mathematics, a continuous function has no breaks.[7] Collins and other dictionaries distinguish continuous, without interruption, from continual, happening repeatedly.[7]

Timeline

  • 1642 – figuratively, continuing.[6]
  • 1673 – unbroken in space.[6]
  • 1751 – uninterrupted in time.[6]
  • 1887 – in grammar.[6]
  • 1959 – continuous assessment.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Going on without interruption or break.
  2. Forming an unbroken whole: a continuous line.
  3. (grammar) Of a verb form, expressing an action in progress; progressive.

Word family

  • continuously
  • continuousness
  • semicontinuous
  • uncontinuous
  • continuous wave
  • continuous function

Usage notes

Continuous means without a pause, while continual usually means happening repeatedly with breaks in between.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Continuous.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/continuous. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·