continental

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: Con=ti=nen=tal

CIDE DICTIONARY

continental, a. 

•  Of or pertaining to a continent.  [1913 Webster]
•  Of or pertaining to the main land of Europe, in distinction from the adjacent islands, especially England; as, a continental tour; a continental coalition.  Macaulay.  [1913 Webster]

  "No former king had involved himself so frequently in the labyrinth of continental alliances."  Hallam.  [1913 Webster]
•  Of or pertaining to the confederated colonies collectively, in the time of the Revolutionary War; as, Continental money.  [1913 Webster]

  "The army before Boston was designated as the Continental army, in contradistinction to that under General Gage, which was called the “Ministerial army.”"  [1913 Webster]

Continental Congress. See under Congress. -- Continental system (Hist.), the blockade of Great Britain ordered by Napoleon by the decree of Berlin, Nov. 21, 1806; the object being to strike a blow at the maritime and commercial supremacy of Great Britain, by cutting her off from all intercourse with the continent of Europe.

continental, n. 

•  A soldier in the Continental army. See Continental, a., 3.  [1913 Webster]
•  a piece of the Continental currency, paper money issued under authority of the Continental Congress. See Continental, a., 3.  [1913 Webster]

  ""Not worth a continental." was said of Continental currency after the American revolution, when it was considered almost worthless. Eventually, under Alexander Hamilton's direction at the Treasury department, the currency was all redeemed at full value."  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

continental, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 of or characteristic of a continent.
2 (Continental) Brit. of, relating to, or characteristic of mainland Europe.
--n. an inhabitant of mainland Europe.

Idiom

continental breakfast a light breakfast of coffee, rolls, etc. continental climate a climate having wide variations of temperature. continental drift Geol. the hypothesis that the continents are moving slowly over the surface of the earth on a deep-lying plastic substratum. continental quilt Brit. a duvet. continental shelf an area of relatively shallow seabed between the shore of a continent and the deeper ocean.

Derivative

continentally adv.

ROGET THESAURUS

continental

Land

N land, earth, ground, dry land, terra firma, continent, mainland, peninsula, chersonese, delta, tongue of land, neck of land, isthmus, oasis, promontory, highland, coast, shore, scar, strand, beach, playa, bank, lea, seaboard, seaside, seabank, seacoast, seabeach, ironbound coast, loom of the land, derelict, innings, alluvium, alluvion, ancon, riverbank, river bank, levee, soil, glebe, clay, loam, marl, cledge, chalk, gravel, mold, subsoil, clod, clot, rock, crag, acres, real estate, landsman, earthy, continental, midland, coastal, littoral, riparian, alluvial, terrene, landed, predial, territorial, geophilous, ripicolous, ashore, on shore, on land.