| 释义 |
continent
con·ti·nent 1 C0600600 (kŏn′tə-nənt)n.1. One of the principal land masses of the earth, usually regarded as including Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.2. Continent The mainland of Europe. Used with the.
[Latin (terra) continēns, continent-, continuous (land), present participle of continēre, to hold together; see contain.]
con·ti·nent 2 C0600600 (kŏn′tə-nənt)adj. Exercising continence.
[Middle English, from Latin continēns, present participle of continēre, to restrain; see contain.]
con′ti·nent·ly adv.continent (ˈkɒntɪnənt) n1. (Physical Geography) one of the earth's large land masses (Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and Antarctica)2. (Physical Geography) that part of the earth's crust that rises above the oceans and is composed of sialic rocks. Including the continental shelves, the continents occupy 30 per cent of the earth's surface3. (Physical Geography) obsolete a. mainland as opposed to islandsb. a continuous extent of land[C16: from the Latin phrase terra continens continuous land, from continēre; see contain] continental adj ˌcontiˈnentally adv
continent (ˈkɒntɪnənt) adj1. (Medicine) able to control urination and defecation2. exercising self-restraint, esp from sexual activity; chaste[C14: from Latin continent-, present participle of continēre; see contain] ˈcontinence, ˈcontinency n ˈcontinently adv
Continent (ˈkɒntɪnənt) n (Placename) the Continent the mainland of Europe as distinguished from the British Islescon•ti•nent (ˈkɒn tn ənt)
n. 1. one of the main landmasses of the globe, usu. reckoned as seven in number (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica). 2. the mainland, as distinguished from islands or peninsulas. 3. the Continent, the mainland of Europe, as distinguished from the British Isles. 4. a continuous tract, as of land. 5. Archaic. something that serves as a container or boundary. adj. 6. characterized by or exercising self-restraint, esp. in sexual activity. 7. able to control urinary and fecal discharge. 8. Obs. containing; being a container. 9. Obs. restraining or restrictive. [1350–1400; Middle English < Latin continent-, s. of continēns, present participle of continēre to contain] con′ti•nent•ly, adv. con·ti·nent (kŏn′tə-nənt) One of the seven great landmasses of the Earth. The continents are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.continent1. 'continent'A continent is a very large area of land surrounded or almost surrounded by sea. A continent usually consists of several countries. Africa and Asia are continents. They travelled across the South American continent.2. 'the Continent'When people talk about the Continent, they mean the mainland of Europe, especially central and southern Europe. On the Continent, the tradition has been quite different.Sea traffic between the United Kingdom and the Continent was halted.continentOne of the world’s great unbroken land masses.Thesaurus| Noun | 1. |  continent - one of the large landmasses of the earth; "there are seven continents"; "pioneers had to cross the continent on foot"craton - the part of a continent that is stable and forms the central mass of the continent; typically Precambrianland mass, landmass - a large continuous extent of landsubcontinent - a large and distinctive landmass (as India or Greenland) that is a distinct part of some continent | | 2. | Continent - the European mainland; "Englishmen like to visit the Continent but they wouldn't like to live there"Europe - the 2nd smallest continent (actually a vast peninsula of Eurasia); the British use `Europe' to refer to all of the continent except the British Isles | | Adj. | 1. | continent - having control over urination and defecationincontinent - not having control over urination and defecation | | 2. | continent - abstaining from sexual intercourse; "celibate priests"celibatechaste - morally pure (especially not having experienced sexual intercourse); "a holy woman innocent and chaste" |
continentnounContinents Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South AmericacontinentadjectiveExercising moderation and self-restraint in appetites and behavior:abstemious, sober, temperate.Translationscontinent1 (ˈkontinənt) noun1. one of the great divisions of the land surface of the world – Europe, America, Australia, Asia or Africa. 大陸 洲，大陆 2. Europe excluding Britain. We are going to the continent for our holidays. 不含不列顛群島的歐洲大陸 欧洲大陆（不包括英国和爱尔兰） ˌcontiˈnental (-ˈnen-) adjective 大陸的 大陆的continental breakfast a light breakfast of rolls and coffee. 大陸式早餐(只有麵包與咖啡的簡單早餐) 大陆式早餐，欧式早餐（只有面包与咖啡的早餐） continental shelf noun the part of a continent that is under a relatively shallow sea. 大陸棚 大陆架
continent2 (ˈkontinənt) adjective able to control especially the bladder and/or bowel. 有克制力的(尤指排瀉方面) 克制的，有节制的 ˈcontinence noun 有克制力 克制，自制 continent
continent, largest unit of landmasses on the earthearth,
in geology and astronomy, 3rd planet of the solar system and the 5th largest, the only planet definitely known to support life. Gravitational forces have molded the earth, like all celestial bodies, into a spherical shape.
..... Click the link for more information. . The continents include Eurasia (conventionally regarded as two continents, EuropeEurope
, 6th largest continent, c.4,000,000 sq mi (10,360,000 sq km) including adjacent islands (2015 est. pop. 740,814,000). It is actually a vast peninsula of the great Eurasian land mass.
..... Click the link for more information. and AsiaAsia
, the world's largest continent 17,139,000 sq mi (44,390,000 sq km) and most populous (2015 est. pop. 4,419,898,000), with nearly three fifths of the world's total population.
..... Click the link for more information. ), AfricaAfrica
, second largest continent (2015 est. pop. 1,194,370,000), c.11,677,240 sq mi (30,244,050 sq km) including adjacent islands. Broad to the north (c.4,600 mi/7,400 km wide), Africa straddles the equator and stretches c.
..... Click the link for more information. , North AmericaNorth America,
third largest continent (2015 est. pop. 571,949,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. North America includes all of the mainland and related offshore islands lying N of the Isthmus of Panama
..... Click the link for more information. , South AmericaSouth America,
fourth largest continent (2015 est. pop. 416,436,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere.
..... Click the link for more information. , AustraliaAustralia
, smallest continent, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. With the island state of Tasmania to the south, the continent makes up the Commonwealth of Australia, a federal parliamentary state (2015 est. pop. 23,800,000), 2,967,877 sq mi (7,686,810 sq km).
..... Click the link for more information. , and AntarcticaAntarctica
, the fifth largest continent, c.5,500,000 sq mi (14,245,000 sq km), asymmetrically centered on the South Pole and almost entirely within the Antarctic Circle. Geology and Geography
Antarctica consists of two major regions: W Antarctica (c.
..... Click the link for more information. . Geographic Distribution of the Continents More than two thirds of the continental regions are in the Northern Hemisphere, rimming the Arctic Ocean. South America and Africa project into the Southern Hemisphere as southward-pointing triangles, forming extensive peninsular regions separating the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. In addition, the continents are generally antipodal to the oceanocean,
interconnected mass of saltwater covering 70.78% of the surface of the earth, often called the world ocean. It is subdivided into four (or five) major units that are separated from each other in most cases by the continental masses. See also oceanography.
..... Click the link for more information. basins (i.e., ocean basins are found on the opposite side of the earth from continental masses). For example, there is an antipodal relationship between the continental Antarctic region and the Arctic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean lies opposite Africa and Europe. The continental areas above sea level comprise about 29% of the earth's surface. However, from a geological point of view, a submerged continental shelf is also part of a continent. Inclusion of the shelf area increases the extent of the continents to 35% of the globe. The earth's average land elevation is c.2,700 ft (820 m) above sea level; the highest point is the summit of Mt. Everest at 29,029 ft (8,848 m); and the lowest point is the shore of the Dead Sea at c.1,400 ft (425 m) below sea level. Geology and Topography of the Continents Geologically and topographically the continents are exceedingly complex and variable in detail, yet certain large-scale structural and topographic features appear to be common to all. The continents are composed mainly of granitic rocks and measure an average of 25 mi (40 km) thick. Underlying the ocean are denser basaltic rocks measuring about 4 mi (7 km) thick. Basaltic rocks may also form the lower portions of the continental crust in many regions. The upper and lower crust zones deform by different mechanisms; the upper crust is brittle and deforms by faulting (see faultfault,
in geology, fracture in the earth's crust in which the rock on one side of the fracture has measurable movement in relation to the rock on the other side. Faults on other planets and satellites of the solar system also have been recognized.
..... Click the link for more information. ) while the lower crust is ductile and capable of flow. The crust and the solid upper mantle form the lithospherelithosphere
, brittle uppermost shell of the earth, broken into a number of tectonic plates. The lithosphere consists of the heavy oceanic and lighter continental crusts, and the uppermost portion of the mantle.
..... Click the link for more information. . Plateaus, Shields, and Mountains Generally, the continents contain vast interior plains or plateaus, underlain by a basement complex of igneous and metamorphic rocks of PrecambrianPrecambrian,
name of a major division of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, table), from c.5 billion to 570 million years ago. It is now usually divided into the Archean and Proterozoic eons. Precambrian time includes 80% of the earth's history.
..... Click the link for more information. age. In some places, the basement complex is exposed at the surface, where it is often called the shield, or craton. The interior of shield areas contain some of the oldest rocks known on the earth's surface. The Canadian Shield area of E Canada is the exposed basement complex of North America. Portions of shield areas are covered with veneers of flat-lying sedimentary rocks of younger age. The interior plains of the continents are frequently bounded on one or more sides by ranges of mountains. These mountains have been intricately folded and faulted. They also display abundant evidence of volcanic activity, large-scale igneous intrusions, and deformation structures associated with convergent plate movement. In the United States the folded Appalachian Mts. lie to the east of the interior plains and were caused mainly by the collision of two continents. The Rocky Mts. are to the west, formed by huge igneous masses that pushed upward through overlying sedimentary rocks, which were then eroded away. Floating Continents and Isostasy Evidence indicates that part of the mantlemantle,
portion of the earth's interior lying beneath the crust and above the core. No direct observation of the mantle, or its upper boundary, has been made; its boundaries have been determined solely by abrupt changes in the velocities and character of seismic waves passing
..... Click the link for more information. below the crust consists of semifluid rocks on which the continents and ocean basins, in effect, are floating. A condition of gravitational balance, called isostasy, exists between different parts of the earth's crust. The theory of isostasy claims that the continental crust floats higher than the oceanic crust because the former is composed of a thick layer of lower density rocks while the latter is composed of a thin layer of higher density rocks. Isostatic adjustments to changes in mass distribution on the earth's surface associated with plate interactions may occur through flow of semifluid materials deep in the earth. These materials cause a compensatory uplift of mountains and plateau areas as erosion wears them down. The mass of eroded material is added to and thus depresses the continental shelves and the ocean floor. Adjustments also accompany such changes as the growth and melting of continental ice sheets. Theories of Continental Formation The oldest continental rocks dated by radioactivity are 3.98 billion years old, which suggests that the continents and oceans are probably permanent features of the earth's surface. Although the continental regions have been periodically covered by shallow seas, they appear never to have been the sites of deep oceans. How the continents originated has been a major debate in geology. The 19th-century geologist J. D. DanaDana, James Dwight,
1813–95, American geologist, mineralogist, and naturalist, b. Utica, N.Y., grad. Yale, 1833. His studies of the S Pacific, NW United States, Europe, and elsewhere led to changes in ideas on mountain building, volcanism, and the origin of the continents
..... Click the link for more information. proposed the continent accretion theory where the continents have always been stationary, with the gradual addition of new material around a central nucleus. Another theory was called the continental assimilation hypothesis, where the ocean areas accumulate the denser elements, then subside to form basins. In the late 19th cent., George Darwin proposed that the moon was gravitationally extracted from the Pacific Ocean, with the earth eventually redistributing into oceanic and continental crusts. In 1925, the expansion of the earth hypothesis stated that the present continents split apart as the earth expanded, noting that the continents could cover a sphere half the surface area of the present earth. Accepted theory now points to continental driftcontinental drift,
geological theory that the relative positions of the continents on the earth's surface have changed considerably through geologic time. Though first proposed by American geologist Frank Bursley Taylor in a lecture in 1908, the first detailed theory of
..... Click the link for more information. and seafloor spreadingseafloor spreading,
theory of lithospheric evolution that holds that the ocean floors are spreading outward from vast underwater ridges. First proposed in the early 1960s by the American geologist Harry H.
..... Click the link for more information. as a result of plate tectonicsplate tectonics,
theory that unifies many of the features and characteristics of continental drift and seafloor spreading into a coherent model and has revolutionized geologists' understanding of continents, ocean basins, mountains, and earth history.
..... Click the link for more information. . continent[′känt·ən·ənt] (geography) A protuberance of the earth's crustal shell, with an area of several million square miles and sufficient elevation so that much of it is above sea level. continent11. one of the earth's large land masses (Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and Antarctica) 2. that part of the earth's crust that rises above the oceans and is composed of sialic rocks. Including the continental shelves, the continents occupy 30 per cent of the earth's surface 3. Obsoletea. mainland as opposed to islands b. a continuous extent of land
continent2 able to control urination and defecation
Continent the. the mainland of Europe as distinguished from the British Isles continent
con·ti·nent (kon'ti-nent), Denoting continence.continent (kŏn′tə-nənt)adj. Exercising continence.
con′ti·nent·ly adv.continent Referring to continence, see there.con·ti·nent (kon'ti-nĕnt) 1. Able to retain urine or stool. 2. Referring to an enterostomy with sphincterlike control.
See also: continenceAcronymsSeeCONTcontinent
Synonyms for continentadj exercising moderation and self-restraint in appetites and behaviorSynonymsWords related to continentnoun one of the large landmasses of the earthRelated Words- craton
- land mass
- landmass
- subcontinent
noun the European mainlandRelated Wordsadj having control over urination and defecationAntonymsadj abstaining from sexual intercourseSynonymsRelated Words |