English → Latin
“continent” in Latin
contineōto hold, keep, connect, contain, maintain; to hold or keep together/close; connect, surround; to keep in, enclose, boundfaberartisan, craftsman, architect, creator, maker, artificer, forger, smith, carpenterabstineōto abstain; to keep, stay off or away, hold at a distance, avoid; to allow, let
The English word continent itself goes back to Latin teneō, through continens.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
continent s.
continens terra; but more commonly continens, fem. only (Ablative, e and i equally common, Freund). On the continent, in continenti (Nep.): to send ambassadors to the continent, in continentem legatos mittere (Caes.): to be brought to him on the continent, in continentem adduci: to reach the continent, ad continentem pervenire: to fetch from the continent, ex continenti comportare (things); ex continenti arcessire (persons; e.g., fabros, Caes.): to leave anybody on the continent, aliquem in continente relinquere (Caes., B.G., 5, 8): to spend the winter on the continent, in continenti hiemem agere (ibid., 22). [Politian is wrong in using it as masculine; uterque continens: adversus continens. Krebs.]
continent adj.
continens (in aliqua re): abstinens [SYN. in CONTINENCE]: castus continensque: abstinens rebus venereis (Col.): to lead a continent life, continenter vivere (Cic.); rebus venereis non uti (after Cic.); rebus venereis abstinere, Col.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for continent?
- The usual Latin words for “continent” are contineō, faber, abstineō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.