centime

[ sahn-teem; French sahn-teem ]

noun

, plural cen·times [sahn, -, teemz, sah, n, -, teem].

1. a monetary unit of various nations and territories, as Lichtenstein, Martinique, Senegal, Switzerland, and Tahiti, one 100th of a franc.
2. a monetary unit of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg until the euro was adopted, one 100th of a franc.
3. a money of account of Haiti, one 100th of a gourde.
4. an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Algeria, one 100th of a dinar.
5. an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Morocco, one 100th of a dirham.

centime

/ sɑ̃tim; ˈsɒnˌtiːm /

noun

1. a monetary unit of Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, French Polynesia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mali, Mayotte, Morocco, New Caledonia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Switzerland, and Togo. It is worth one hundredth of their respective standard units
2. a former monetary unit of Andorra, Belgium, France, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Luxembourg, Martinique, Monaco, and Réunion, worth one hundredth of a franc

Word History and Origins

Origin of centime¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French; Old French centiesme, from Latin centēsimum, accusative of centēsimus “hundredth”; cent

Word History and Origins

Origin of centime¹

C18: from French, from Old French centiesme from Latin centēsimus hundredth, from centum hundred

Example Sentences

You receive mountains of twenty-cent-pieces:  you never return anything, neither a five-franc-piece, nor even a centime.

From Project Gutenberg

The light-heartedness of her nation is in her favor, and she has learned thoroughly how to extract the most from every centime.

From Project Gutenberg

“Would you send a colored one, or just one of the regular dix-centime kind,” she inquired with interest.

From Project Gutenberg

But neither he nor his creditors can lay a finger upon the pictures, nor raise a centime upon them.

From Project Gutenberg

M. Dubois Thainville answered that he had received the Emperor's orders not to pay one centime.

From Project Gutenberg