continental

English Online Dictionary. What means continental‎? What does continental mean?

English

Alternative forms

• (continental Europe): Continental

Etymology

From continent +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑntɪˈnɛntl̩/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkɒntɪˈnɛntl̩/
• Rhymes: -ɛntəl
• Hyphenation: con‧ti‧nent‧al

Adjective

continental (comparative more continental, superlative most continental)

1. Of or relating to a continent or continents.
2. Of the mainland, as opposed to an island offshore.
   • 1846 The Parliamentary gazetteer of Ireland (A. Fullarton, Dublin) Vol.1 p.x "Introduction; Extent" :

     The outline of continental Ireland is proximately that of a rhomboid ; and, in a general view, is greatly more continuous or less indented and undulated by cuts and sweeps of the sea than the outline of continental Great Britain.

3. Relating to, or characteristic of, continental Europe.
4. (US, historical) Of or relating to the confederated colonies collectively, in the time of the Revolutionary War.

Synonyms

• (in the main part of a country or region, as opposed to on one of its islands): mainland
• (characteristic of the style of continental Europe'): European

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “characteristic of the style of continental Europe”): British, English

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Korean: 콘티넨털 (kontinenteol)

Translations

Noun

continental (plural continentals)

1. Someone from the continent.
2. (US, historical) A member of the Continental army.
3. (US, historical) Paper scrip (paper money) issued by the continental congress, largely worthless by the end of the war.
4. (obsolete, by extension) The smallest amount; a whit; a jot.

   not worth a continental

   I don't care a continental!

Catalan

Etymology

From continent +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [kun.ti.nənˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [kon.ti.nənˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kon.ti.nenˈtal]

Adjective

continental m or f (masculine and feminine plural continentals)

1. continental

Derived terms

• intercontinental

Further reading

• “continental” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “continental”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “continental” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “continental” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From continent +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

Adjective

continental (feminine continentale, masculine plural continentaux, feminine plural continentales)

1. continental

Derived terms

• Chine continentale

Further reading

• “continental”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology

From continente +‎ -al.

Adjective

continental m or f (plural continentais)

1. continental

Derived terms

• intercontinental

Further reading

• “continental”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

Occitan

Etymology

continent +‎ -al

Adjective

continental m (feminine singular continentala, masculine plural continentals, feminine plural continentalas)

1. continental

Portuguese

Etymology

From continente +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: con‧ti‧nen‧tal

Adjective

continental m or f (plural continentais)

1. continental
2. (chiefly Azores, chiefly Madeira) Portuguese from the mainland

Derived terms

• continentalmente
• intercontinental

Noun

continental m or f by sense (plural continentais)

1. (chiefly Azores, chiefly Madeira) Portuguese from the mainland

Further reading

• “continental”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French continental. By surface analysis, continent +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkon.ti.nenˈtal/

Adjective

continental m or n (feminine singular continentală, masculine plural continentali, feminine and neuter plural continentale)

1. continental

Declension

Related terms

• continent

Spanish

Etymology

From continente +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kontinenˈtal/ [kõn̪.t̪i.nẽn̪ˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: con‧ti‧nen‧tal

Adjective

continental m or f (masculine and feminine plural continentales)

1. continental

Derived terms

Further reading

• “continental”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28