\Con"ti*nence\, Continency \Con"ti*nen*cy\, n. [F.
continence, L. continentia. See {Continent}, and cf.
{Countenance}.]
1. Self-restraint; self-command.
         He knew what to say; he knew also, when to leave
         off, -- a continence which is practiced by few
         writers.                              --Dryden.
2. The restraint which a person imposes upon his desires and
   passions; the act or power of refraining from indulgence
   of the sexual appetite, esp. from unlawful indulgence;
   sometimes, moderation in sexual indulgence.
         If they [the unmarried and widows] have not
         continency, let them marry.           --1 Cor. vii.
                                               9 (Rev. Ver.
                                               ).
         Chastity is either abstinence or continence:
         abstinence is that of virgins or widows; continence,
         that of married persons.              --Jer. Taylor.
3. Uninterrupted course; continuity. [Obs.] --Ayliffe.