Continuing

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /kənˈtɪnjuːɪŋ/

Definitions

1. This concept refers to the process of maintaining momentum in an activity or condition over time, indicating both persistence and the advancement of something previously established
2. It captures the essence of ongoing action by signifying the act of perpetuating a state or activity while also ensuring the continuation of prior elements
3. This term denotes the action of prolonging a state or activity while also emphasizing the maintenance of previously initiated processes or conditions

Etymology: The verb "continue" came into English in Middle English from Old French "continuer", which in turn came from Latin "continuō". That Latin verb was built from "continuus", meaning "uninterrupted" or "connected", which itself grew from "continēre", "to hold together". The image behind the word is therefore one of things held in an unbroken chain, not of an activity that simply persists. Before "continue" arrived, English already had a native verb for this idea. Old English "þurhwunian", literally "to dwell through", meant roughly "to remain in place through a period of time", and it was displaced by the Latin-derived word. Its survival is a reminder of how thoroughly French and Latin vocabulary replaced many native verbs after the Norman Conquest. "Continuing" is simply the present participle and gerund of "continue", so it carries the same Latin-derived sense of an unbroken holding-together, now used to mean "still going on".

Synonyms: ongoing, persistent, uninterrupted, constant, sustained

Antonyms: interrupted, terminated, ceasing, discontinued, halted