The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Continuous \Con*tin"u*ous\, a. [L. continuus, fr. continere to
   hold together. See Continent.]
   1. Without break, cessation, or interruption; without
      intervening space or time; uninterrupted; unbroken;
      continual; unceasing; constant; continued; protracted;
      extended; as, a continuous line of railroad; a continuous
      current of electricity.
      [1913 Webster]

            he can hear its continuous murmur.    --Longfellow.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Bot.) Not deviating or varying from uninformity; not
      interrupted; not joined or articulated.
      [1913 Webster]

   Continuous brake (Railroad), a brake which is attached to
      each car a train, and can be caused to operate in all the
      cars simultaneously from a point on any car or on the
      engine.

   Continuous impost. See Impost.

   Syn: Continuous, Continual.

   Usage: Continuous is the stronger word, and denotes that the
          continuity or union of parts is absolute and
          uninterrupted; as, a continuous sheet of ice; a
          continuous flow of water or of argument. So Daniel
          Webster speaks of "a continuous and unbroken strain of
          the martial airs of England." Continual, in most
          cases, marks a close and unbroken succession of
          things, rather than absolute continuity. Thus we speak
          of continual showers, implying a repetition with
          occasional interruptions; we speak of a person as
          liable to continual calls, or as subject to continual
          applications for aid, etc. See Constant.
          [1913 Webster]