continental

comparative more continental · superlative most continental · alternative Continental

1. Of or relating to a continent or continents.

   continental drift

   2 more examples

   Offshore to the west of the continental margin during the Early Triassic, the Sonoma highlands formed a volcanic island arc, separated from the mainland by a shallow sea that cut through western Nevada and northwestern Utah.

   2012, Chinle Miller, “The Tectonic Forces of the Mesozoic”, in In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition, page 34

   No former king had involved himself so frequently in the labyrinth of continental alliances.

   1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC

2. Of the mainland, as opposed to an island offshore.

   continental Europe

   1 more example

   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.

   1846 The Parliamentary gazetteer of Ireland (A. Fullarton, Dublin) Vol.1 p.x "Introduction; Extent"

   Synonyms: mainland

3. Relating to, or characteristic of, continental Europe.

   continental breakfast

   2 more examples

   at Monte Carlo or some of the other Continental gambling-hells

   1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC

   A kiss on the hand may be quite continental / But diamonds are a girl's best friend

   1949, Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (song)

4. UShistoricalOf or relating to the confederated colonies collectively, in the time of the Revolutionary War.

   continental money

plural continentals · alternative Continental

1. Someone from the continent.

   Reflecting on his long career chronicling scientists, J. G. Crowther wondered why it was that in the grand debates over the nature of light, x-rays, and cathode rays, the British opted for particles and the continentals for waves.

   2012, Marjorie Senechal, I Died for Beauty: Dorothy Wrinch and the Cultures of Science

2. UShistoricalA member of the Continental army.
3. UShistoricalPaper scrip (paper money) issued by the continental congress, largely worthless by the end of the war.
4. broadlyobsoleteThe smallest amount; a whit; a jot.

   not worth a continental

   1 more example

   I don't care a continental!

comparative more Continental · superlative most Continental

1. Synonym of European (including insular Europe, such as Britain, Ireland)

   Synonyms: European

   1. UKalternativeAlternative form of continental, continental European.
   2. UKalternativeAlternative form of continental (pertaining to the European Union).
2. UKUShistoricalPertaining to the colonies of British North America covered by the Continental Congress.

plural Continentals

1. Synonym of European (a denizen of Europe)

   Synonyms: European

   1. UKA denizen of continental Europe
   2. UKA denizen of the European Union
2. UKUShistoricalA denizen of the colonies of British North America covered by the Continental Congress.