cento

[ sen-toh ]
See synonyms for cento on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural cen·tos.
  1. a piece of writing, especially a poem, composed wholly of quotations from the works of other authors.

  2. anything composed of incongruous parts; conglomeration.

  1. Obsolete. a patchwork.

Origin of cento

1
First recorded in 1595–1605, cento is from the Latin word centō patchwork quilt or curtain

Other words from cento

  • cen·ton·i·cal [sen-ton-i-kuhl], /sɛnˈtɒn ɪ kəl/, adjective
  • cen·to·nism [sen-tn-iz-uhm], /ˈsɛn tnˌɪz əm/, cen·to·ni·za·tion [sen-tn-uh-zey-shuhn], /ˌsɛn tn əˈzeɪ ʃən/, noun

Words Nearby cento

Other definitions for CENTO (2 of 2)

CENTO
[ sen-toh ]

noun
  1. a former organization (1959–79) for economic and military cooperation, established as successor to the Baghdad Pact, and comprising Great Britain, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. The U.S. had affiliate status.

Origin of CENTO

2
Cen(tral)T(reaty)O(rganization)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cento in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cento (1 of 2)

cento

/ (ˈsɛntəʊ) /


nounplural -tos
  1. a piece of writing, esp a poem, composed of quotations from other authors

Origin of cento

1
C17: from Latin, literally: patchwork garment

British Dictionary definitions for CENTO (2 of 2)

CENTO

/ (ˈsɛntəʊ) /


n acronym for
  1. Central Treaty Organization; an organization for military and economic cooperation formed in 1959 by the UK, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey as a successor to the Baghdad Pact: disbanded 1979

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012