From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Continuo \Con*ti"nu*o\ (? or ?), n. [It.] (Mus.)
Basso continuo, or continued bass.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :
continuo
n 1: a bass part written out in full and accompanied by numbers
to indicate the chords to be played [syn: figured bass,
basso continuo, continuo, thorough bass]