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- pronunciation:
- kan
tih
n
 nt
- features:
- Word Explorer, Word Parts
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition: |
A continent is any one of the seven very large areas of land on the earth. These continents are called Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. When we talk about the countries that make up a particular continent, we often include islands that are close to that continent or are connected with it by culture and history. For example, when we talk about the island country of Madagascar, we call it part of Africa even though it does not actually touch the continent.
Did you know that Asia is the largest continent? It also has the most people.
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| derivation: |
continently (adv.) |
The word continent
contains the following parts:
ten, tin, tain
Latin
root
that means to hold
  Example words:
-ant, -ent
Latin
adjective- and noun-forming suffix
that means (in adjectives) doing the action denoted by the verb root; (in nouns) one who or that which does the action denoted by the verb root.
More about this word part:
The suffix -ant
, -ent
forms adjectives and, to a much lesser extent, nouns from Latin verb stems such as fid in confident
and stud in student
. This suffix is the equivalent in Latin of the "-ing" inflection in English. Many adjectives ending in -ant
, -ent
have a corresponding noun ending in -ance, -ence, -ancy, -ency.
Example words:
accident, confident, continent, current, different, disinfectant, important, parent, patient, president, student
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