What is a continent? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent points out that different countries have different models.

What is a continent? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent points out that different countries have different models. "France and its former colonies, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Latin America, and Greece" use a 6-continent model, where "America" is both North and South America. That WP page points to http://lema.rae.es/dpd/?key=norteamerica http://lema.rae.es/dpd/?key=norteamerica , which says: > Tanto América del Norte como Norteamérica son designaciones correctas del subcontinente americano que engloba el conjunto de países situados al norte de México y al propio México. > [Both 'America of the North' and 'North America' are correct designations of the American subcontinent which encompasses the union of the countries north of Mexico and Mexico itself.] The second definition points out that in Spanish, "North America" is often used as a synonym for the US, with the lovely example: > En América, solamente la República Argentina tiene organizados sus cultivos usando tecnología moderna, exceptuando Canadá y Norteamérica > [In America, only the Argentine Republic has organized their crops using modern technology, except Canada and North America] If you grew up learning that your country was part of America-the-continent, then I can easily see why it's irritating to have others say that it isn't. I am wary about justifying something with "Just how the terminology evolved". Sometimes language evolves for malicious purposes, or to enforce certain cultural prejudices. Look at recent HN discussions on how "expat" is a high status word for "temporary guest worker from a rich country", or how "jaywalker" was invented to castigate pedestrians who don't give way to drivers.