Continue

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kənˈtɪnjuː/

Definitions

1. To keep going without stopping or to resume after a pause
2. To persist in an action or state without interruption or to begin again following a break
3. To maintain an activity, process, or condition without ceasing or to restart it after being halted

Etymology: Before "continue" arrived in English, speakers said "thurghwonen," a native Old English verb built from "þurh" (through) and "wunian" (to dwell or remain). The idea was of staying put through a stretch of time, which is a long way from the modern sense of carrying on with something you have started. The borrowed word came from Latin "continuare," formed from "continuus," meaning uninterrupted or joined together without gaps. That adjective itself grew from "continere," to hold together, from "con-" (together) and "tenere" (to hold). So the Latin root is about things held in an unbroken hold, and "continue" carries that sense of an unbroken line. The word came into English through Old French "continuer," which reached Middle English as "continuen" and gradually pushed out the older native verb. The Old English word did not vanish entirely from the language in one stroke, but the Latin-derived form won out and became the everyday term.

Synonyms: persist, proceed, carry on, go on, maintain

Antonyms: stop, cease, halt, discontinue