Continuously

Continuously is an adverb derived from the adjective continuous. It describes an action or process that occurs without interruption or gaps in time. When something happens continuously, it proceeds from start to finish without breaks, though the duration may be finite or infinite.

In everyday language, continuously often modifies verbs: for example, "The power supply operated continuously for 24 hours." It contrasts with intermittently or sporadically. The adjective continuous, by contrast, describes a state of being unbroken, such as a continuous line or a continuous process.

In science and mathematics, continuous denotes a property of a function or space. Continuously can modify other adjectives or verbs in technical phrases: "the function is continuously differentiable" means the derivative exists and is a continuous function. It also appears in statements like "the system was monitored continuously," indicating ongoing monitoring without breaks.

Etymology: continuously comes from the adjective continuous, which in turn derives from Latin continuus meaning unbroken or uninterrupted, from continere meaning to hold together. The suffix -ly forms the adverb.

See also: continuous, continuity, continuous function, continuous spectrum.