Continent vs Contingent - What's the difference?
continent | contingent |
(obsolete) Land (as opposed to the water).
* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , III.v:
A large contiguous landmass considered independent of its islands, peninsulas etc. Specifically, the Old World continent of Europe–Asia–Africa. See the Continent.
Each of the main continuous land-masses on the earth's surface, now generally regarded as seven in number, including their related islands, continental shelves etc.
Exercising self-restraint; controlled, temperate with respect to one's bodily needs or passions, especially sex.
* Shakespeare
* 2009 , (Diarmaid MacCulloch), A History of Christianity , Penguin 2010, p. 119:
Not interrupted; connected; continuous.
* Berrewood
(obsolete) Serving to restrain or limit; restraining; opposing.
An event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something future; a contingency.
That which falls to one in a division or apportionment among a number; a suitable share; proportion;
a quota of troops.
* 2014 , Ian Black, "
Possible or liable, but not certain to occur; incidental; casual.
(with upon ) Dependent on something that is undetermined or unknown.
Dependent on something that may or may not occur.
Not logically necessarily true or false.
As nouns the difference between continent and contingent
is that continent is land (as opposed to the water) while contingent is an event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something future; a contingency.As adjectives the difference between continent and contingent
is that continent is exercising self-restraint; controlled, temperate with respect to one's bodily needs or passions, especially sex while contingent is possible or liable, but not certain to occur; incidental; casual.As a proper noun Continent
is the Old World.continent
English
(wikipedia continent)Etymology 1
From (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)- The carkas with the streame was carried downe, / But th'head fell backeward on the continent .
Derived terms
* the Continent * continental * supercontinentSee also
*Hyponyms
* Africa * America * Antarctica * Asia * Australia * Europe * Eurasia * Gondwana * Laurasia * North America * Oceania * Pangaea * South AmericaEtymology 2
From (etyl) continent, from (etyl) .Adjective
(en adjective)- Have a continent forbearance till the speed of his rage goes slower.
- A celibate himself, he was of the opinion that marriage was something of a concession to human frailty, to save from fornication those who could not be continent , so it was better to marry than to burn with lust.
- a continent fever
- The northeast part of Asia is, if not continent with the west side of America, yet certainly it is the least disjoined by sea of all that coast.
- (Shakespeare)
Antonyms
* incontinentcontingent
English
Noun
(en noun)Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis", The Guardian , 27 November 2014:
- Arrests and prosecutions intensified after Isis captured Mosul in June, but the groundwork had been laid by an earlier amendment to Jordan’s anti-terrorism law. It is estimated that 2,000 Jordanians have fought and 250 of them have died in Syria – making them the third largest Arab contingent in Isis after Saudi Arabians and Tunisians.
Adjective
(en adjective)- The success of his undertaking is contingent upon events which he can not control.
- a contingent estate