Continental Congress :  n : the legislative assembly composed of delegates from the rebel colonies who met during and after the American Revolution; they issued the Declaration of Independence and framed Articles of Confederation [syn: Continental Congress]

Continental \Con`ti*nen"tal\, a. 1. Of or pertaining to a continent. 2. Of or pertaining to the main land of Europe, in distinction from the adjacent islands, especially England; as, a continental tour; a continental coalition. --Macaulay. No former king had involved himself so frequently in the labyrinth of continental alliances. --Hallam. 3. (Amer. Hist.) Of or pertaining to the confederated colonies collectively, in the time of the Revolutionary War; as, Continental money. The army before Boston was designated as the Continental army, in contradistinction to that under General Gage, which was called the ``Ministerial army.'' --W. Irving. Continental Congress. See under Congress. Continental system (Hist.), the blockade of Great Britain ordered by Napoleon by the decree of Berlin, Nov. 21, 1806; the object being to strike a blow at the maritime and commercial supremacy of Great Britain, by cutting her off from all intercourse with the continent of Europe.