'Continent' is short for Latin 'terra continens' — 'continuous land,' territory held together.
Any of the world's main continuous expanses of land, such as Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Antarctica, or Australia.
From Latin terra continēns (continuous land), present participle of continēre (to hold together, to contain), composed of con- (together) + tenēre (to hold), from PIE *ten- (to stretch, to hold taut). The noun use arose by ellipsis: continēns originally was an adjective modifying terra (land), and the adjective stood alone as a noun by the 16th century when Europeans were mapping the great landmasses. The model was terra continēns in opposition to islands — the mainland is the land that is unbroken, held-together
The word 'continent' literally means 'holding together' — land that forms one continuous mass. The same root 'tenēre' (to hold) hides inside 'tenant' (one who holds a lease), 'tenure' (a holding), 'tenacious' (holding fast), 'lieutenant' (one who holds the place of another), and even 'entertain' (to hold among guests). The moral sense of 'continent' (self-restrained, especially sexually) came first — Chaucer used it that way — and the geographical sense followed