centenary

[sen-ten-uh-ree, sen-tn-er-ee; especially British sen-tee-nuh-ree]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR centenary ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to a period of 100 years.

recurring once in every 100 years: a centenary celebration.

noun, plural cen·ten·ar·ies.

a centennial.

a period of 100 years; century.

Origin of centenary

1600–10; < Latin centēnārius (adj.), equivalent to centēn(ī) a hundred each (cent(um) 100 + -ēnī distributive suffix) + -ārius -ary

Can be confusedcentenary centennial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for centenary

centennial, hundredth, century, centurial, centuplicate

Examples from the Web for centenary

Contemporary Examples of centenary

On the centenary of World War I, Europe's suddenly facing a crisis of Russian aggression.
Crimea Is Gone—What Does NATO Do Next?
Christopher Dickey
March 2, 2014
Martin Luther King asked President John Kennedy to issue a new emancipation proclamation on the centenary of the first.
What Was the Goal of MLK’s March on Washington?
Charles Euchner
July 26, 2013
Thus are the historiographical trenches dug for the centenary.
The Utterly Pointless First World War
Michael F. Bishop
May 22, 2013
July 31 marks the centenary of the birth of the high priest of monetarism, Milton Friedman.
Nicholas Wapshott: A Lovefest Between Milton Friedman and J.M. Keynes
Nicholas Wapshott
July 30, 2012
One hundred years ago today was the occasion for James Joyce to publish a piece on “The Centenary of Charles Dickens.”
Charles Dickens Bicentenary: Why We Should Care
Jimmy So
February 7, 2012

Historical Examples of centenary

It so happened that we were at Frankfort on the centenary of Goethe's death.
War Letters of a Public-School Boy
Paul Jones.
Speech delivered on the Centenary of his birth, February 12, 1909.
Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence
Various
In 1916, the centenary of his birth was celebrated in Port Louis.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 6, 1921
Various
Never surely was there such a gathering in Herrnhut as on that Centenary Day.
History of the Moravian Church
J. E. Hutton
We cannot, therefore, as yet fix upon the objects of our Centenary Offering.
The Story of My Life
Egerton Ryerson

British Dictionary definitions for centenary

centenary

adjective

of or relating to a period of 100 years

occurring once every 100 years

noun plural -naries

a 100th anniversary or its celebration

Word Origin for centenary

C17: from Latin centēnārius of a hundred, from centēnī a hundred each, from centum hundred

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

Word Origin and History for centenary

adj.

c.1600, "period of 100 years," from Latin centenarius "of a hundred, relating to a hundred," from centenai "a hundred each," from centum "hundred" (see hundred). As a noun, "100th anniversary," from 1788.