century

English Online Dictionary. What means century‎? What does century mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English centurie (“a count of one hundred (of anything); a division of the Roman army; century; a division of land”), from Old French centurie, from Latin centuria, from centum (“one hundred”). The most common modern use is a shortening of century of years.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛnt͡ʃʊɹi/, /ˈsɛnt͡ʃɹi/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛn(t)ʃ(ə)ɹi/
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈsen(t)ʃ(ə)ɹi/
• Rhymes: -ɛntʃʊɹiː, -ɛntʃɹiː, -ɛntʃəɹiː
• Homophone: sentry (for some speakers)
• Hyphenation: cen‧tu‧ry, cent‧ury

Noun

century (plural centuries)

2. A period of 100 consecutive years; often specifically a numbered period with conventional start and end dates, e.g., the twentieth century, which stretches from (strictly) 1901 through 2000, or (informally) 1900 through 1999. The first century AD was from 1 to 100.
3. A unit in ancient Roman army, originally of 100 army soldiers as part of a cohort, later of more varied sizes (but typically containing 60 to 70 or 80) soldiers or other men (guards, police, firemen), commanded by a centurion.

   Holonyms: maniple, cohort, legion

4. A political division of ancient Rome, meeting in the Centuriate Assembly.
5. A hundred things of the same kind; a hundred.
6. (cricket) A hundred runs scored either by a single player in one innings, or by two players in a partnership.
7. (snooker) A score of one hundred points.

8. (sports) A race a hundred units (as meters, kilometres, miles) in length.
9. (US, informal) A banknote in the denomination of one hundred dollars.

Synonyms

• (period of 100 years): age; centennium (rare); yearhundred (v. rare); centenary (obsolete)
• (Roman military unit): centuria

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Related terms

• centurion

Translations

See also

• centennial, semicentennial, multicentennial, bicentennial, sesquicentennial, tricentennial, quadricentennial, quincentennial, sexcentennial, septicentennial, octocentennial, novocentennial
• secular, plurisecular, multisecular
• centenary, bicentenary, tricentenary, quadricentenary, quincentenary, sexcentenary, septicentenary, octocentenary, novocentenary
• centenarian, multicentenarian

Anagrams

• cuntery, curteyn