continuity

continuance, continuation, continuity

1. Continuance (14c) is much less common than continuation (also 14c). It is used when the context requires the meaning ‘a state of continuing in existence or operation’ (i.e. a fact) rather than ‘the act or an instance of continuing’ (i.e. a process), which calls for continuation. Examples:

• The step-up in the air war might even jeopardize the continuation of the talks themselves —Newsweek, 1972

• Tiering [of dresses] is a continuation of the peasant theme that has been with us for what seems like a long, long time —Detroit Free Press, 1978

• Confusion has arisen about their desperate continuance of the struggle which was manifestly lost —Antonia Fraser, 1988

• The continuance of hunting is the bastion for the defence of every other legitimate country sport —Bristol Evening Post, 2003.

2. Continuity means ‘the state of being continuous’ or (more concretely) ‘an unbroken succession (of a set of events)’:

• Each shipment of wood parts will have a continuity of quality —House and Garden, 1972

• The Homewood is the only substantial prewar modernist house with continuity of occupation and contents —Guardian, 2003.

It has a special meaning in the cinema and broadcasting, denoting the process whereby separate shots or recordings are linked together to form a continuous sequence with consistent details.