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centurion

[sen-too r-ee-uh n, -tyoo r-]
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noun
  1. (in the ancient Roman army) the commander of a century.
  2. (initial capital letter) Military. any one of various British battle tanks in service from 1945 to 1967.
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Origin of centurion

1225–75; Middle English < Latin centuriōn- (stem of centuriō), equivalent to centur(ia) century + -iōn- -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

detectivecaptainpolicedeputycopsheriffbadgearmflatfootnoncomsergeantcenturionmounty

Examples from the Web for centurion

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He talked with a centurion, who told him, "With a great price I obtained this freedom."

    Despair's Last Journey

    David Christie Murray

  • The centurion sent to take him alive arrived before he expired.

    Pagan and Christian Rome

    Rodolfo Lanciani

  • A military officer, a centurion or captain of a hundred men, was stationed there.

    Jesus the Christ

    James Edward Talmage

  • And here the centurion found the overseer, and talked with him long and earnestly.

  • My master's farm—a veteran of the first war—a centurion—the Numidians.

    The Lion's Brood

    Duffield Osborne

British Dictionary definitions for centurion

centurion

noun
  1. the officer commanding a Roman century
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Word Origin

C14: from Latin centuriō, from centuria century
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

Word Origin and History for centurion

n.

late 13c., from Latin centurionem (nominative centurio), "Roman army officer, head of a centuria" (a group of one hundred); see century.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper