cent
Origin of cent
Other definitions for cent (2 of 3)
Other definitions for cent (3 of 3)
WORDS THAT USE CENT-
What does cent- mean?
Cent- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “hundredth” or “hundred.”
Cent- comes from the Latin centum, meaning “hundred.” The word cent, as in a hundredth of a dollar and also known as a penny, ultimately comes from this same Latin root, as does percent. The Greek word for “hundred” is hekatón, source of the combining forms hecto-, hect-, hekto-, and hekt-, which you can learn more about in our Words That Use articles for the forms.
Cent- is a variant of centi-, which loses its -i– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.
Want to know more? Read our Words That Use centi- article.
Examples of cent-
Among other senses, centennial means “marking or lasting one hundred years, such as the centennial anniversary of an event.”
The cent- part of the word means “hundred” and -ennial means “pertaining to a period of years.” So, centennial has a literal sense of “hundred year period.”
What are some words that use or are related to the combining form cent-?
The following forms feature the equivalent forms of cent- in Latin, Spanish, or French.
What are some other forms that cent- may be commonly confused with?
Not every word that begins with the exact letters cent- is necessarily using the combining form cent- to denote “hundredth,” such as center or centaur. Learn more about their history and meaning at our entries for the words.
Break it down!
Centesimal describes something divided into how many parts?
How to use cent in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for cent
Word Origin for cent
Other Idioms and Phrases with cent
see for two cents; not worth a dime (red cent); put in one's two cents.