centigrade

American  

[sen-ti-greyd] / ˈsɛn tɪˌgreɪd /

adjective

1. divided into 100 degrees, as a scale.

2. (initial capital letter) Celsius. cent. C

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centigrade British  

/ ˈsɛntɪˌɡreɪd /

adjective

1. a former name for Celsius

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noun

1. a unit of angle equal to one hundredth of a grade

centigrade Scientific  

/ sĕn′tĭ-grād′ /

1. See Celsius

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centigrade Cultural  

1. The Celsius temperature scale.

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Usage

Although still used in meteorology, centigrade , when indicating the Celsius scale of temperature, is now usually avoided because of its possible confusion with the hundredth part of a grade

Because of confusion over the prefix centi–, which originally meant 100 but developed the meaning 1/100, scientists agreed to stop using the term centigrade in 1948. The term Celsius is now standard.

Etymology

Origin of centigrade

From French, dating back to 1805–15; see origin at centi-, -grade

Explanation

Centigrade is a unit for measuring temperature, based on the properties of water. The centigrade scale goes from zero to one hundred, where zero is the point where water freezes, and one hundred is when water boils. Centigrade is also called Celsius, but it’s never called Fahrenheit — because that’s a totally different measurement of temperature. Break centigrade down to its Latin roots: centum (meaning “a hundred”) and gradus (meaning “steps"). There are one hundred steps in the centigrade scale, see? There is a way to convert centigrade to Fahrenheit, but this is vocabulary not mathematics; you’re on your own with that.

Example Sentences

However, chemical production using solid processes is energy intensive, requiring temperatures of up to a thousand degrees centigrade.

From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2023

“They have made the assumption that the reality is the world will be at above 2 degrees centigrade within a matter of decades,” Lieberthal said.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2023

The Big Bang theory postulates that the universe was inflated from a microscopic speck in a trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second, at a temperature of trillions degrees centigrade.

From Washington Post • Jan. 28, 2023

If the Earth is to avoid damaging environmental effects, including more extreme weather, it needs to limit average global warming to below 1.5 degrees centigrade.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2022

In the centigrade scale, zero degrees is the freezing point of water.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife