Meaning

adjective of or pertaining to or typical of Europe

adjective of or relating to or concerning the American colonies during and immediately after the American Revolutionary War

adjective of or relating to or characteristic of a continent

originEtymology tree English continent Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English continental From continent + -al.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0