contexture 
cessory. In principle it is similar to 
lin-r (which see). 
contextured (kon-teks'ttod), o. [< c 
+ -/-.] Woven; formea into texture. [Kare.j 
A gurmcnt of Klc.^h 101 oi SCUM >).""' :,/i/ l ,'rt in the loom 
of lleiivm. <'<nluli' : Strtor Kesartus, i. 10. 
conticent (kon'ti-sent ), a. (X LL. conttccn(t-)s, 
ppr. nt' I'liii/ici-n; lie silent, < L. i-iim- (intensive) 
+ tact-ri; lie silent: sue tacit.'] Silent; hushed; 
quiet. [Rare.] 
servants h:i\clr!t the room, the gtlests sit conticent. 
' ray, I he Virginians, li. 
1227 
tlie base: as, contiguous antenna'. Contiguous 
angles. See ..//.:;, i.-Syn. .l^w'/iiici.et,-. s,., ./,,,. 
contiguously (kon-tig'ii-us-li), nilr. In a con- 
tiguous manner ; by contact ; without interven- 
ing space. 
The next of kin continuously embrace : 
And foes arc sunder'u by a larger space. 
Dryden, tr. of Ovid's Metamnrph., i. ::i. 
contiguousness (kon-tig'u-us-nes), n. A state 
of contact ; close union of surfaces or borders. 
The suspicious houses, as if afraid to be infected with 
more misery than they have already, by contiguou*ne* to 
others, keep oh* at a distance, having many waste places 
contignationt (kon-tig-na'shpn), . [=F. con- betwixt them. Fuller, Holy War, p 'Tr. 
li ! i,:,iti<i ll =Hi>.,;, l ,li ! /, l < l <-i,,, l ,<l,.contignatio(n-), continence, continency (kon'ti-nens, -nen-si), 
a floor, a story, < contujnare, pp. contignatus, . r< ME . continence, < OF. continence, F. con- 
join with beams, < com-, together, + hgnnm, a tinence = Pr. contenensa = Sp. Pg. etmtlMMla 
= It. continenza, < L. coutincutia, holding back, 
moderation, temperance, < continen( t-)s : see con- 
lini nt.] 1. In general, self-restraint with re- 
gard to desires and passions ; self-command. 
A harder lesson to learn Continence 
In joyous pleasure than in grievous paine. 
Speiuer, F. Q., II. vi. 1. 
He knew . . . when to leave off a continence which is 
practised by a few writers. Dryden, Pref. to Fables. 
2. In a special sense, the restraint of the sex- 
ual passion within due bounds, whether abso- 
lute, as in celibacy, or within lawful limits, as 
in marriage ; chastity. 
continently 
slons (also separately called continents) of the western 
. i, iilin- nl. ali'l air hai'lh IJH.I-- iiuit-'l than H ere Africa 
aid Asia Itcforc tin- enttini,' of tlir Sin / .anal. 
4. [can.] In a special sense, in Knglish litera- 
ture, the mainland of Europe, as distinguished 
from the British islands: as, to travel on the 
1. A frame of beams; a story; the 
beams that bind or support a frame or story. 
The uppermost contiynation of their houses. 
J. Ureyory, Works, I. 10. 
An arch, the worke of Baltazar di Sienna, built with 
wonderfull ingenuity, so that it is not easy to conceive 
how it is supported, yet It has some Imperceptible con- 
tignationtt wd> do not betray themselves easily to the eye. 
Evelyn, Diary, Oct. 25, 1644. 
2. The act of framing together or uniting beams 
in a fabric. 
Their own buildings . . . were without any party-wall, 
and linked by continuation Into the edifice of France. 
Burke. 
contiguatet (kon-tig'u-at), a. [< ML. conti</u- 
iiln.i, contiguous, ppr. of contiguari, be con- 
tiguous, < L. contiguus, contiguous: see contigu- 
ous.] Contiguous. 
The two extremities are contiyuate, yea, and continuate. 
Holland, tr. of Plutarch, p. 817. 
contiguity (kon-ti-gu'i-ti), n. [= F. contiguite 
= Sp. contiguidad = Pg. contiguidade = It. con- 
tiguita, < ML. contiguita(t-)s, < L. contiguus, 
contiguous: see contiguous.] 1. Actual con- 
tact; a touching; the state of being in con- 
tact, or within touching distance ; hence, prox- 
imity of situation or place ; contiguousness ; 
adjacency. 
Regard is justly had to contiguity, or adjacency, in pri- 
vate lands and possessions. Bacon, Fable of Perseus. 
In a community of so great an extent as ours, contiguity 
becomes one of the strongest elements in forming party 
combinations, and distance one of the strongest elements 
in repelling them. Calhoun, Works, I. 233. 
Phoebe's presence, and the continuity of her fresh life 
to his blighted one, was usually all that he required. 
Hawthorne, Seven Gables, ix. 
Hence 2. A series of things in continuous 
connection ; a continuity. 
O for a lodge in some vast wilderness, 
Some boundless continuity of shade ! 
Cowper, The Task, II. 2. 
3. In psychol., the coexistence or immediate 
sequence of two or more impressions or ex- 
periences. The law of continuity is that law of mental 
association according to which an idea which has been 
accompanied or followed by another is more likely to be 
accompanied or followed by that other on any occasion of 
reproduction, and that this tendency is stronger the oftener 
and the closer the contiguity of the ideas has been. The 
law also includes the tendency of ideas to recall ideas that 
have immediately preceded them if there Is such an ele- 
mentary tendency, which is disputed. Contiguity is the 
most characteristic of the principles of association. It was 
stated by Aristotle, and was revived by David Hume, who 
used the word continuity to translate Aristotle's term TO 
vvvtyyvs. 
The qualities from which this association arises, and by 
which the mind is after this manner convey 'd from one 
idea to another, are three, viz. : Kcsemblance, Continuity 
in time or place, and Cause and Etl'cct. 
Hume, Treatise of Human Nature (1739), i. 4. 
The continuity in time and place must mean that of 
the sensations ; and so far it is affirmed that the order of 
the i.leas follows that of the sensations. Continuity of two 
sensations in time means the successive order. Continuity 
of two sensations in place means the synchronous order.' 
Jameg Mill, Analysis of Unman Mind, iii. 
contiguous (kon-tig'u-us), a. [= F. contigu = 
Sp. Pg. It. contiguo, < L. contiguus, touching, 
< contingere (contig-). touch: see contiiii/rnt, 
contact, contagion.] i. Touching ; meeting or 
joining at the surface or border ; hence, close 
together ; neighboring ; bordering or adjoining ; 
adjacent : as, two con tigitous bodies, houses, or 
estates : usually followed by to. 
I saw two several! Castles built on a rock, which are so 
near together that they are even continuous. 
Cortiat, Crudities, I. 93. 
A picturesque house continuous to the churchyard, which 
In Queen Kli/abetli's time was a palace and was visited by 
that sovereign, . . . has now become a dairy. 
II'. Winter, English Itambles, p. 45. 
Specifically 2. In cntom.: (a) So thickly 
strewn as to be close together or touch, but 
without coalescin.";: as. i-nntii/iiinix spots, dots, 
or punctures. (6) Almost or quite touching at 
Chastity is either abstinence or continence ; abstin 
Is that of virgins or widows ; continence that of mai 
persons. 
_ 
- _. ..larried 
Jer. Taylor. 
3. Capacity for holding or containing: as, a 
measure which has only one half the continence 
of another. 4f. Continuity; uninterrupted 
course. 
Lest the continence of the course should be divided. 
Ayli/e t Parergon. 
continent (kon'ti-nent), a. and n. [I. a. < ME. 
continent, < OF. (and F.) continent = Sp. Pg. 
It. continente, < L. continen(t-)s, holding back, 
temperate, moderate, also hanging together, 
continuous, uninterrupted, ppr. of continere, 
hold back, check, also hold together: see cow- 
tain. II. n. In def. II., 3, early mod. E. continente 
= F. continent = Sp. Pg. It. continente = D. kon- 
tinent = Or. continent, kontincnt = Dan. /conti- 
nent, < ML. NL. continen(t-)s, a continent, that 
is, a continuous extent of land, in ML. applied 
also to a broad continuous field, prop. adj. (sc. 
L. terra, land, or ager, field), L. contincn(t-)s, 
continuous, unbroken : see above. In defs. 1 
and 2 the noun is directly from the adj.] I. . 
1. Restrained; moderate; temperate. 
I pray you have a continent forbearance, till the speed 
of his rage goes slower. Shak., Lear, i. 2. 
2. Moderate or abstinent in the indulgence of 
the sexual passion; maintaining continence; 
chaste. 
My past life 
Hath been as ctmtinent, as chaste, as true. 
As I am now unhappy. Shale., W. T., ill. 2. 
3f. Restraining; opposing. 
My desire 
All continent impedimenta would o'erbear. 
That did oppose my will. Shak., Macbeth, tv. 3. 
4f. Containing; being the container: with of. 
5f. Continuous; connected; not interrupted. 
Some. . . thluke it v^is called Anglia of Angulus, which 
is in English a corner, for that It is but a corner in respect 
of the nun uc and continent land of the whole world. 
GraSton, Briteyn, iv. 
The north-east part of Asia Is, if not continent with 
the west side of America, yet certainly . . . the least dis- 
joined by sea of all that coast. Brerewood, Languages. 
Continent cause. See caiue, 1. 
II. . If. That which contains or comprises ; 
a container or holder. 
Here's the scroll, 
The continent and summary of my fortune. 
Shak., 11. of V., HI. 2. 
2f. That which is contained or comprised ; con- 
tents ; the amount held or that can be held, as 
by a vessel. 
Great vessels into less are emptied never. 
There's a redundance past their continent ever. 
Chairman, Revenge of Hussy d'Ambois, li. 1. 
3. In phys. geog., one of the largest land- 
masses of the globe. From the most general point 
of view there are two continental masses, the eastern 
and the western, the old world and the new world. In 
iiriTiking thoc up into ICSMT divisions, Europe and Asia 
together naturally constitute one mass, conveniently des- 
ignated as Eurasia, ih"ir_lj each is coimnoiilv reckoned 
a separate continent. Africa, formerly attached to Asia 
very slightly by the isthmus of Suez, and now artificially 
severed from it by tin Suez canal, forms another conti- 
nental mass. Australia is regarded by many as a third 
continental subdivision of the eastern land-mass (or a 
fourth, reckoning I'.iimpe and Asia separately). North 
and South America form the two great natural subdivi- 
(He! kindly communicated to her, as is the way with 
the hot hied Knyli.sli on their tirst an iviil "on tin- ' 
sions regarding the sights and persons 
he h.i'l 
Thackeray, Paris Sketch Book, A Caution to Travellers. 
5f. Land in a general sense, as distinguished 
from water ; terra firma. 
The earcas with the streaine was carried downe, 
But th head fell backcward on the > 
Speiuer, F. Q., III. v. 26. 
Make mountains level, and the continent, 
Weary of solid firmness, melt itself 
Into the sea! M,,k.. -I lien. IV., lit 1. 
To conduct them through the Red Sea. into the conti- 
nent of the Holy Laud. Purchait, Pilgrimage, p. 1&9. 
6. [cap.'] Same as Encratite. old continent. See 
old. 
continental (kou-ti-nen'tal), a. and n. [< con- 
Hum t, n., + -al; = F. continental, etc.] i. a. 1. 
Relating or pertaining to, or of the nature of, 
a continent ; entitled to be considered a conti- 
nent. 
Greenland, however Insulated it may ultimately prove 
to be, is In mass strictly continental. 
Kane, Sec. Orinn. Exp., I. 225. 
2. Characteristic of a continent: opposed to 
insular : as. a continenUil climate. See below. 
3. Specifically, of or belonging to the conti- 
nent, as distinguished from adjacent islands, 
and especially to the continent of Europe: as, 
the con tinental press; the continental Sunday. In 
Amrr. hint. : (a) Pertaining to the government and affairs 
of the thirteen revolutionary colonies during and imme- 
diately after their struggle against England : as, the Con- 
tinental Congress ; continental money (the paper currency 
issued by Congress during the revolutionary war). 
The army before Boston was designated as the conti- 
nental army, in contradistinction to that under General 
Gates, which was called the ministerial army. Irving. 
(6t) Inclined to favor a strengthening of the general gov- 
ernment and an increase of unity among the colonies. 
Continental climate, in iihys. //.... the climate of a 
part of a continent, reKarded as owing its peculiarities to 
this fact. Such a climate is subject to great fluctuations 
of temperature, hoth diurnal and seasonal. An insular 
climate, on the other hand, is much more equable. This 
difference is most marked in the case of a small island re- 
mote from all other land, as contrasted with the central 
portions of a great continental mass like Asia. Places near 
the sea, but more especially if surrounded by the sea, and 
in proportion as t hey are distant from the land, enjoy a 
more equable or insular climate. At a great distance 
from the sea, and especially if the land-area is very large, 
the summer is abnormally hot and the winter proportion- 
ally cold, while the difference l>etween the temperatures 
of night and day is also very marked. The interiors of the 
continents have in general a smaller rainfall than their 
edges. - Continental pronunciation, or system of 
pronunciation, of Latin and Greek. Sec irrununciatitm. 
Continental system, in modern hint., the plan of the 
emperor Napoleon for excluding the merchandise of Eng- 
land from all parts of the continent of Europe. It was 
instituted by the decree of Berlin, issued November 21st, 
1806, which declared the British Islands in a state of block- 
ade, and made prisoners of war all Englishmen found In 
the territories occupied by France and her allies. 
II. n. 1. A native or an inhabitant of a con- 
tinent, specifically of the continent of Europe. 
It appears that Englishmen at all times knew better than 
ConmwHtab how to maintain their right of free and inde- 
pendent action. English Gildt (E. E. T. S.), p. IxxU. 
2. In Amer. hist., a soldier of the regular army 
of the revolted colonies in the war of indepen- 
dence Not worth a continental, not worth as much 
as a piece of paper money issued liy the Continental Con- 
gress in the revolutionary war. and hence, from the depre- 
ciation of that money, of little or no value ; worthless ; 
good for nothing. 
The quaint term ' ' Continental " long ago fell into disuse, 
except in the slang phrase iwt worth a Continental, which 
referred to the debased condition of our currency at the 
close of the Revolutionary War. 
J. Fifkc, Amer. Pol. Ideas, p. 104. 
continentalert (kon-ti-nen'tal-er), n. Same as 
continental, 2. 
continentalist (kon-ti-nen'tal-ist), n. [< con- 
tinental + -igt.] 1. A native or an inhabitant of 
a continent ; a continental. 
Robinson Crusoe and Peter Wllkins could only have 
been written by islanders. No coiitinentptixt could have 
conceived either tale. Coleridge, Table-Talk, p. 309. 
2. In U. S. hist., one who, just after the close of 
the revolutionary war, desired a stronger union 
of the States. 
continently (kon'ti-nent-li), adr. In a conti- 
nent manner ; chastely ; moderately ; temper- 
ately ; with self-restraint. 
When I'aiil r.,te this epistle, it was lykely enough that 
the man would live r<;iifi'// 
T. Martin, Marriage of Priestes (1554), x. 1. 
