Refers to a large landmass; often used in geographical contexts. Compare with 大陸 (たいりく), which can also mean 'continent' but is more common.
See also: 大陸 (たいりく) · 五大州 (ごだいしゅう)
Asia is the largest continent in the world.
As one of the five continents, the African continent is mentioned.
五大州 refers to the 'five continents' (a traditional geographical concept). 大州 is the general term for a single continent.
the seven continents
Standard kanji spelling for 'continent'.
Variant kanji spelling; 洲 is an older form of 州.
Compound of 大 (たい, 'large') and 州 (しゅう, 'state' or 'landmass'). The kanji 州 originally meant 'sandbank' or 'island' and later came to denote a large land area.