a piece of writing, especially a poem, composed wholly of quotations from the works of other authors.
anything composed of incongruous parts; conglomeration.
Obsolete. a patchwork.
First recorded in 1595–1605, cento is from the Latin word centō patchwork quilt or curtain
Cen(tral) T(reaty) O(rganization)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Author’s Note: A cento, from the Latin for “patchwork,” is a collage poem composed of lines from other sources.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 4, 2023
If not, it should, for Robert Irwin’s ingenious historical fantasy “Wonders Will Never Cease” is a contemporary novelist’s version of the poetic form known as a cento.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 27, 2017
While reading a cento, one savored its imaginative repurposing of bits from Horace, Virgil and any number of lesser ancients.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 27, 2017
In his principal work, The Banquet of the Ten Virgins, the hymn is found from which the following is a cento.
From Hymns of the Greek Church Translated with Introduction and Notes by Brownlie, John
The Ecbasis Captivi, an animal-epic 100 appearing at Toul in 940, has one fifth of its verses formed out of Horace in the manner of the cento, or patchwork.
From Horace and His Influence by Showerman, Grant
Says Zia: "CENTO is becoming a hindrance to Pakistan's security."
From Time Magazine Archive
So, in the geopolitics of the '70s, China ranks as a sort of honorary member of CENTO.
From Time Magazine Archive
With all due pomp, the U.S. last week was playing host to the semiannual Ministerial Council of CENTO, the Baghdad-less Baghdad Pact.
From Time Magazine Archive
Close ties were knit with Turkey and Iran, two Moslem neighbors and fellow members of CENTO.
From Time Magazine Archive
CENTO, a town of Emilia, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, 18 m.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various
And so, I wanted to do what I could to discourage people from doing that and that's where the centos come in.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2019
Familiar phraseology was ready at hand for the composition of new canticles which were often mere centos from the Psalms or other portions of the Hebrew scriptures.
From Christian Hymns of the First Three Centuries by Messenger, Ruth Ellis
He was no mere lawyer: no stringer of professional centos.
From The International Monthly Magazine - Volume V - No II by Various
Allan Cunningham corrected but little, yet his imitations of the elder lyrics are perfect centos of Scottish feeling and poesy.
From Books and Authors Curious Facts and Characteristic Sketches by Anonymous
The Empress Eudoxia wrote the life of Jesus Christ, in centos taken from Homer; Proba Falconia from Virgil.
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 by Disraeli, Isaac
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
