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

Let's not delude ourselves, we're looking at human extinction, the death of eight billion people, and there's no way that people will be able to survive in anything like an increase of 5º centigrade.

From Salon • Oct. 24, 2024

Their most glaring mistake came when they chose to chase against South Africa, thus subjecting themselves to fielding in the worst of Mumbai's 37.4 degrees centigrade heat and high humidity.

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2023

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

Moreover, the world down there was far warmer than anyone had expected, with a temperature at 10,000 meters of 180 degrees centigrade, nearly twice the forecasted level.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson