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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Continuous \Con*tin"u*ous\, a. [L. continuus, fr. continere to
hold together. See {Continent}.]
1. Without break, cessation, or interruption; without
intervening space or time; uninterrupted; unbroken;
continual; unceasing; constant; continued; protracted;
extended; as, a continuous line of railroad; a continuous
current of electricity.
[1913 Webster]

he can hear its continuous murmur. --Longfellow.
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2. (Bot.) Not deviating or varying from uninformity; not
interrupted; not joined or articulated.
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{Continuous brake} (Railroad), a brake which is attached to
each car a train, and can be caused to operate in all the
cars simultaneously from a point on any car or on the
engine.

{Continuous impost}. See {Impost}.

Syn: {Continuous}, {Continual}.

Usage: Continuous is the stronger word, and denotes that the
continuity or union of parts is absolute and
uninterrupted; as, a continuous sheet of ice; a
continuous flow of water or of argument. So Daniel
Webster speaks of "a continuous and unbroken strain of
the martial airs of England." Continual, in most
cases, marks a close and unbroken succession of
things, rather than absolute continuity. Thus we speak
of continual showers, implying a repetition with
occasional interruptions; we speak of a person as
liable to continual calls, or as subject to continual
applications for aid, etc. See {Constant}.
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