'Continence' is Latin for 'holding together' — self-restraint as keeping oneself contained.
The ability to control movements of the bowels and bladder; self-restraint, especially in sexual matters.
From Old French 'continence,' from Latin 'continentia' (self-restraint, moderation, temperance, a holding together), from 'continēns' (holding together, restraining, temperate), present participle of 'continēre' (to hold together, to contain, to restrain, to keep within bounds), from 'con-' (together, with) + 'tenēre' (to hold, to grasp, to keep), from PIE *ten- (to stretch, to pull, to extend). The word's meaning moved from the physical (holding things together) to the moral (holding oneself together, self-restraint) to the specifically bodily (control over urinary or bowel function). PIE *ten- produced
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