Continuance

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kənˈtɪnjuəns/

Definitions

1. The act of maintaining or prolonging something without interruption, or a legal postponement of court proceedings
2. The action of extending or sustaining something over a period, along with the ongoing nature of an activity or situation, can also refer to a delay in legal proceedings
3. The state of something remaining in effect or continuing without a break ; a formal deferment or adjournment of a judicial process

Etymology: The noun "continuance" entered English in Middle English, borrowed from Old French, where it had the same sense of carrying on without interruption. Its root is the verb "continuer" in French, which came from Latin "continuare," meaning to join together or make continuous. The Latin verb in turn grew from "continuus," an adjective meaning uninterrupted, so the core idea behind the word is unbroken connection in time or space. The noun is formed the way many English abstract nouns are: the verb's stem plus a suffix that turns an action or state into a thing you can name. In this case the suffix "-ance" marks a condition or process, so "continuance" names the state of going on. English speakers often reach for it in legal and formal contexts, where it can describe a postponement of a hearing, a sense that is a short step from the basic meaning of persisting without a break.

Synonyms: continuation, perpetuation, sustenance

Antonyms: cessation, discontinuation