continuum means A continuous series or whole, no part of which is noticeably different from its adjacent parts, although the ends or extremes of it are very different from each other. It carries an Arena rating of 1622, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, continuum ranks #465 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #567 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #830 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,003 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
continuum is pronounced /kənˈtɪnjuəm/.
Why “continuum” is a great word
A continuous series or whole in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different, though the extremes may be distinct. From the Latin continuum ("continuous thing"), neuter form of continuus ("continuous"), from contineō ("to hold together, contain, enclose"), first attested in English 1640–50. Unlike "spectrum," which implies a range of identifiable bands or positions, or "discrete," which denotes separate and countable items, a continuum is the indivisible seam of reality. It is the imperceptible shift from day into night, the unmarked passage of youth into age, and the slow, silent erosion of a shoreline by the sea—the profound truth that all thresholds are merely illusions of our perception, a world held together in unbroken, murmuring flow.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin continuum, neuter form of continuus, from contineō (“contain, enclose”).
noun
- A continuous series or whole, no part of which is noticeably different from its adjacent parts, although the ends or extremes of it are very different from each other.e.g.“Near-synonym: spectrum”
- A continuous extent.e.g.“A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.” — 2012 March 7, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:
- The nondenumerable set of real numbers; more generally, any compact connected metric space.
- A touch-sensitive strip, similar to an electronic standard musical keyboard, except that the note steps are ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a semitone, and so are not separately marked.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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