Jump To:

• centi-
  centi-

  a combining form meaning “hundredth” or “hundred,” used in the formation of compound words.
• centi–
  centi–

  A prefix meaning “a hundredth,” as in centigram, a hundredth of a gram.

centi-

American  

1. a combining form meaning “hundredth” or “hundred,” used in the formation of compound words.

   centiliter; centimeter; centipede.

---

centi- British  

prefix

1.  c.  denoting one hundredth

   centimetre

2. rare denoting a hundred

   centipede

---

centi– Scientific  

1. A prefix meaning “a hundredth,” as in centigram, a hundredth of a gram.

---

Usage

What does centi- mean? Centi- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “hundredth” or "hundred." In science, centi- is very commonly used as a prefix in units of measure equaling a factor of “one hundredth.”Centi- 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. What are variants of centi-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, centi- becomes cent-, as in centare.

Etymology

Origin of centi-

< Latin, combining form of centum

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

centi-

For 1-10, 1-100 and 1-1,000 of the units, the prefixes deci-, centi- and milli- are used.

From The Style Book of The Detroit News by The Detroit News