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Continuous vs Periodic - What's the difference?

continuous | periodic |

As an adjective continuous

is without break, cessation, or interruption; without intervening time.

As a noun periodic is

newspaper.

continuous

English

Adjective

(-)
  • Without break, cessation, or interruption; without intervening time.
    • a continuous current of electricity
  • * 1847 , , Ticknor and Fields (1854), page 90:
    • he can hear its continuous murmur
  • Without intervening space; continued; protracted; extended.
    • a continuous line of railroad
  • (botany) Not deviating or varying from uniformity; not interrupted; not joined or articulated.
  • (analysis, of a function) Such that, for every x'' in the domain, for each small open interval ''D'' about ''f''(''x''), there's an interval containing ''x'' whose image is in ''D .
  • (mathematics, more generally, of a function) Such that each open set in the range has an open preimage.
    • Each continuous function from the real line to the rationals is constant, since the rationals are totally disconnected.
  • (grammar) Expressing an ongoing action or state.

    • Usage notes

    *

    Synonyms

    * (without break, cessation, or interruption in time''): constant, continual (''but see usage notes above ), incessant, never-ending, ongoing, unbroken, unceasing, unending, uninterrupted * (without break, cessation, or interruption in space ): connected, unbroken * See also

    Antonyms

    * (without break, cessation, or interruption in time ): broken, discontinuous, discrete, intermittent, interrupted * (without break, cessation, or interruption in space ): broken, disconnected, disjoint, unbroken * (in mathematical analysis ): discontinuous, stepwise

    Derived terms

    * continuous brake * continuous impost * continuously * continuousness (in mathematics) * continuous distribution * continuous function * continuous group * continuous line illusion * continuous map * continuous mapping theorem * continuous space * continuous vector bundle * continuously differentiable function * uniformly continuous

    Related terms

    * continuity * continued * continuum

    See also

    * constant * contiguous

    References

    periodic

    English

    Alternative forms

    * periodick (obsolete)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Relative to a period or periods.
  • Having repeated cycles.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1899, author=(Stephen Crane)
    • , title=, chapter=1 , passage=There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free to expand his ideas on the periodic visits of cowboys to the town. “Mason Rickets, he had ten big punkins a-sittin' in front of his store, an' them fellers from the Upside-down-F ranch shot 'em up […].”}}
  • Occurring at regular intervals.
  • Periodical.
  • (label) Pertaining to the revolution of a celestial object in its orbit.
  • For which any return to it must occur in multiples of k time steps, for some k>1.
  • (label) Having a structure characterized by periodic sentences.
  • (label) Relating to, derived from, or designating, the highest oxygen acid (HIO) of iodine.
    • Antonyms
    * (astronomy) non-periodic * (mathematics) aperiodic
    Derived terms
    (terms derived from periodic) * periodic classification * periodic function * periodic law * periodic system * periodic table
    Related terms
    * period * periodicity

    Etymology 2

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Of or derived from a periodic acid.
    • Derived terms
    * periodate * periodic acid English heteronyms ----