centime

[ sahn-teem; French sahn-teem ]

/ ˈsɑn tim; French sɑ̃ˈtim /

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noun, plural cen·times

[sahn-teemz; French sahn-teem]. /ˈsɑnˈtimz; French sɑ̃ˈtim/.

a monetary unit of various nations and territories, as Lichtenstein, Martinique, Senegal, Switzerland, and Tahiti, one 100th of a franc.

a monetary unit of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg until the euro was adopted, one 100th of a franc.

a money of account of Haiti, one 100th of a gourde.

an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Algeria, one 100th of a dinar.

an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Morocco, one 100th of a dirham.

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Origin of centime

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French; Old French centiesme, from Latin centēsimum, accusative of centēsimus “hundredth”; see cent

Words nearby centime

centigram, centile, centiliter, centilitre, centillion, centime, centimeter, centimeter-gram-second, centimeter-gram-second system, centimetre, centimetre-gram-second

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use centime in a sentence

You receive mountains of twenty-cent-pieces: you never return anything, neither a five-franc-piece, nor even a centime.
Other People's Money|Emile Gaboriau
The light-heartedness of her nation is in her favor, and she has learned thoroughly how to extract the most from every centime.
Women Wage-Earners|Helen Campbell
“Would you send a colored one, or just one of the regular dix-centime kind,” she inquired with interest.
A Woman's Will|Anne Warner
But neither he nor his creditors can lay a finger upon the pictures, nor raise a centime upon them.
Don Orsino|F. Marion Crawford

M. Dubois Thainville answered that he had received the Emperor's orders not to pay one centime.
Biographies of Distinguished Scientific Men|Francois Arago

British Dictionary definitions for centime

centime

/ (ˈsɒnˌtiːm, French sɑ̃tim) /

noun

a monetary unit of Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, French Polynesia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mali, Mayotte, Morocco, New Caledonia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Switzerland, and Togo. It is worth one hundredth of their respective standard units

a former monetary unit of Andorra, Belgium, France, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Luxembourg, Martinique, Monaco, and Réunion, worth one hundredth of a franc

Word Origin for centime

C18: from French, from Old French centiesme from Latin centēsimus hundredth, 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