English Online Dictionary. What means central? What does central mean?
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin centrālis, from centrum (“centre”), from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron); by surface analysis, centre + -al.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsɛntɹəl/
- Rhymes: -ɛntɹəl
Adjective
central (comparative more central, superlative most central)
- Being in the centre.
- Having or containing the centre of something.
- Being very important, or key to something.
- Synonyms: dominant, main, principal
- (anatomy) Exerting its action towards the peripheral organs.
- (algebra) Belong or relating to the center of an algebraic structure.
- Of an element of an algebraic structure: which commutes with all other elements under multiplication
- Of a unital algebra over a field: whose center is exactly equal to the image of the base field
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Noun
central (plural centrals)
- (especially US) center
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin centrālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Central, Balearic) [sənˈtɾal]
- IPA(key): (Valencia) [senˈtɾal]
Adjective
central m or f (masculine and feminine plural centrals)
- central (being in the centre)
Derived terms
Related terms
Noun
central f (plural centrals)
- nexus; headquarters (non-military); central office
- Synonym: seu (“seat or headquarters”)
- Antonym: sucursal (“branch office”)
- Hyponyms: central telefònica, central telegràfica
- (electricity) power plant
- Hyponyms: central elèctrica; central eòlica; central fotovoltaica; central geotèrmica; central heliotèrmica, central heliotermodinàmica; central hidràulica, central hidroelèctrica; central hidrotèrmica; central mareomotriu; central nuclear; central solar; central tèrmica, central termoelèctrica
Further reading
- “central” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “central”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
- “central” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “central” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Danish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin centralis.
Noun
central c (singular definite centralen, plural indefinite centraler)
- headquarters, place whence organizations are administrated
Declension
Adjective
central
- central, being in the centre
Inflection
References
- “central” in Den Danske Ordbog
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin centrālis. By surface analysis, centre + -al.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɑ̃.tʁal/
Adjective
central (feminine centrale, masculine plural centraux, feminine plural centrales)
- central
- Antonym: périphérique
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- → Turkish: santral
Further reading
- “central”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- raclent
Galician
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin centrālis.
Adjective
central m or f (plural centrais)
- central
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “central”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
Occitan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin centrālis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
central m (feminine singular centrala, masculine plural centrals, feminine plural centralas)
- central
Related terms
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin centrālis.
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
- Hyphenation: cen‧tral
Adjective
central m or f (plural centrais)
- central
Derived terms
Noun
central f (plural centrais)
- centre
- headquarters
- (Portugal, soccer) back (player in a position behind most players on the team)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “central”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
- “central”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
- “central” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
- “central”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
- “central”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
- “central”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French central, Latin centrālis. By surface analysis, centru + -al.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [t͡ʃenˈtral]
Adjective
central m or n (feminine singular centrală, masculine plural centrali, feminine and neuter plural centrale)
- central, pivotal, nodal
Declension
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin centrālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Spain) /θenˈtɾal/ [θẽn̪ˈt̪ɾal]
- IPA(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /senˈtɾal/ [sẽn̪ˈt̪ɾal]
- Rhymes: -al
- Syllabification: cen‧tral
Adjective
central m or f (masculine and feminine plural centrales)
- central
Derived terms
Noun
central f (plural centrales)
- headquarter
- center
- power station
- Synonym: centra eléctrica
Noun
central m or (Cuba) f (plural centrales)
- (Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Cuba) a sugar mill
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “central”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
- “central”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
Swedish
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Latin centrālis, from centrum (“center point”) + -ālis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
central
- central, centralized, situated at the centre (of a town)
- central, important
Declension
Related terms
Etymology 2
Clipping of centralstation, or any other compound of the adjective.
Noun
central c
- a central, a centre, a central station, a junction, a connection point, an electrical switchboard
Declension
Related terms
References
- central in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)