An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

1) A → binary star system in which the two → components are so close that they exchange gases in a complex manner. Their overlapping → gravitational fields form a "peanut" shaped → equipotential surface.
2) Two roughly similar-sized asteroids or cometary nuclei resting on one another, presumably after coming together very gently. Examples are → Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the asteroid → (486958) 2014 MU69.

→ contact; → binary.

To hold or keep within its volume or area.

M.E. conte(y)nen, from O.Fr. contenir, from L. continere "to hold together, enclose," from → com- "together" + tenere "to hold."

Parbanidan, constructed from Mid.Pers. parvand-, parvastan "to include, contain," from variant parband- and dropping the end d, as occurs in several dialects; from par- "around," → peri-, + ban-, van-, band, vand, bastan, → band, + -idan infinitive suffix; related to parvandé, → file.

1) Anything that contains or can contain something, as a carton, box, crate, or can.
2) A large, vanlike, reuseable box for consolidating smaller crates or cartons into a single shipment, designed for easy and fast loading and unloading of freight (Dictionary.com).

→ contain; → -er.

1) To look at with continued attention.
2) To think about intently and at length.

From L. contemplatus, from contemplari "to gaze attentively, observe," from → com- + templum "space marked out for observation of auguries."

Darnegaristan "contemplate, think deeply," from prefix dar- "→ in-, into," + negaristan "to look," → theory.

The act of contemplating; thoughtful observation.

Verbal noun of → contemplate.

1) Something that is contained.
2) The topics or matter treated in a written work.

M.E., from L. contentum from p.p. of continere, → contain.

1a) A race, conflict, or other competition between rivals, as for a prize.
1b) Struggle for victory or superiority.
1c) Strife in argument; dispute; controversy.
2a) To struggle or fight for, as in battle.
2b) To argue against; dispute (Dictionary.com).

From Fr. contester "to dispute, oppose," from M.Fr., from L. contestari "to call to witness, bring action," from → com- "together" + testari "to bear witness," from testis "a witness."

Hâbard, from hâ-, variant ham- "together," → com-, + bard "to fight, to struggle," cf. nabard, nibard "fight, struggle, war," variants nâvard, âvard, ultimately from Proto-Ir. *part- "to fight, to struggle."

The parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect (Dictionary.com).

From L. contextus "a joining together," originally p.p. of contexere "to weave together," from → com- "together" + texere "to weave, to make", → texture.

Bâftâr, verbal noun from bâftan "to weave," → texture.

A scenario according to which the existence of peculiar → Wolf-Rayet stars could be explained by intense → mass loss that characterizes → massive stars. An → O-type star loses a significant amount of mass via → stellar winds, revealing first the CNO-burning products at its surface, and subsequently the → helium burning products. These two stages are spectroscopically identified with the → WN Wolf-Rayet and → WC Wolf-Rayet phases. A version of the scenario would be:
M> 85 Msun: O → LBV → WN → WC → SN
40 >M> 85 Msun: O → WN → WC → SN
25 >M> 40 Msun: O → RSG → WN → WC → SN
20 >M> 25 Msun: O → RSG → WN → SN
10 >M> 20 Msun: OB → RSG → BSG → SN.
The mass ranges shown are meant only to be illustrative; they are a function of → metallicity (see, e.g., Philip Massey, 2003, ARAA 41, 15).

Peter S. Conti, 1976, Mem. Soc. R. Sci. Liège, 6, Ser. 9, 193; scenario, from It. scenario, from L.L. scenarius "of stage scenes," from L. scena "scene."

Any of the large, continuous land areas of the Earth. They are usually considered to be seven: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica.

Contraction of L. terra continens "continuous land," from continens, pr.p. of continere "to hold together," from → com- "together" + tenere "to hold, to keep, to maintain" from PIE root *ten- "to stretch;" → tension.

Qâré, from Ar. qârrat.

Of or of the nature of a continent.

→ continent; → -al.

The part of the → Earth's crust which underlies the → continents. Continental crust is more silica-rich and thicker than → oceanic crust, and is on average older. However, it is highly variable in all of these respects. The average thickness of the continental crust is about 40km, but beneath parts of the Andes and the Himalaya mountain ranges the crust is more than 70 km thick. Continental crust is continuously being eroded and turned into sediment. Some of this sediment ends up on the ocean floor where it can be returned to the → Earth's mantle at → subduction zones. The oldest parts of the continental crust include some rocks that are nearly 4 billion years old. New continental crust is produced by the destruction of oceanic crust at subduction zones, a process that continues today.

→ continental; → crust.

A hypothesis proposed by Alfred Wegener (1912) suggesting that the → continents are not stationary, but drift through time. Wegener's hypothesis has since been developed and included in a new theory called → plate tectonics.

→ continental; → drift.

In logic, a → proposition that may be either true or false, and is not necessarily one or the other.

Noun of → contingent.

1) Dependent for existence, occurrence, character, etc., on something not yet certain; conditional.
2) Liable to happen or not; uncertain; possible.
3) Logic: Describing a → proposition that is → true in some possible circumstances and → false in others. For example, "it snowed in Paris on 15 December 2000" is contingent: it is true, but it might have been false. On a → truth table a contingent proposition is one that is true for some possible → truth values of its constituent parts and false for others. See also → non-contingent.

M.E., from M.Fr. contingent and directly from L. contingentem (nominative contingens) "happening, touching," pr.p. of contingere "to touch," → contact.

Âmarsân, agent noun from *âmarsidan "to touch," related to parmâsidan "to touch, feel," → contact, Mid.Pers. marz "contact, touching," marzitan "to touch," Mod.Pers. mâlidan "to rub," Av. marəz- "to rub, wipe," marəza- "border, district," Mod.Pers. marz "border;" ultimately from Proto-Ir. *Hmars- "to touch."

The act or state of continuing; the state of being continued.

Verbal noun of → continue + → -tion.

1) (v.intr) To go on or keep on without interruption as in some course or action.
2) (v.trans) To cause to remain in a particular condition.

M.E. contynuen, from O.Fr. continuer, from L. continuare "to make all one, join together, make or be continuous," from continuus "uninterrupted," from continere "to be uninterrupted," literally "to hold together," from → con- + tenere "to hold," cognate with Pers. tanidan, → tension.

1) Peydâštan, from pey "after; pursuit; track; step," → tracking, + dâštan "to have, hold, maintain," → access.
2) Peydâdan, from pey, as above, + dâdan "to give, yield, grant, command," → yield.

Continuing to happen or exist for a long time. Occurring many times.

Past participle of → continue.

In mathematics, a fraction whose numerator is an integer and whose denominator is an integer plus a fraction whose numerator is an integer and whose denominator is an integer plus a fraction and so on.

→ continued; → fraction.

1) General: Uninterrupted in extent, sequence, or time.
2) Math.: A line or curve that extends without a break. → continuous function.

From L. continuus "uninterrupted," from contin(ere) "to hold together, retain," → continue, + -uus verbal adj. suffix.

Peyvasté "continous," peyvastan "to connect, join," Mid.Pers. paywastan, from *pati-basta-, from suffix pati- (Mid.Pers. pât-,from O.Pers. paity "agaist, back, opposite to, toward, face to face, in front of," Av. paiti, akin to Skt. práti "toward, against, again, back, in return, opposite," Pali pati-, Gk. proti, pros "face to face with, toward, in addition to, near;" PIE *proti) + basta- "tied, shut" (Av./O.Pers. band- "to bind, fetter," banda- "band, tie," Skt. bandh- "to bind, tie, fasten," PIE *bhendh- "to bind," cf. Ger. binden, E. bind), cf. Skt. prati-bandh- "to tie."