Phonetics. (of a speech sound) produced with the tongue articulating neither expressly forward nor in the back part of the mouth, as any of the sounds of lull.
Physics. (of a force) directed to or from a fixed point.
noun
(formerly)
a main telephone exchange.
a telephone operator at such an exchange.
Origin of central
1
1640–50; < Latincentrālis, equivalent to centr(um) center + -ālis-al1
in, at, of, from, containing, or forming the centre of somethingthe central street in a city; the central material of a golf ball
main, principal, or chief; most importantthe central cause of a problem
of or relating to the central nervous system
of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra
of, relating to, or denoting a vowel articulated with the tongue held in an intermediate position halfway between the positions for back and front vowels, as for the a of English soda
(of a force) directed from or towards a point
informal(immediately postpositive)used to describe a place where a specified thing, quality, etc is to be found in abundancenostalgia central
1640s, from French central or directly from Latin centralis "pertaining to a center," from centrum (see center (n.)). Centrally is attested perhaps as early as early 15c., which might imply a usage of central earlier than the attested date.
Slightly older is centric (1580s). As a U.S. colloquial noun for "central telephone exchange," first recorded 1889 (hence, "Hello, Central?"). Central processing unit attested from 1961. Central America is attested from 1826.
