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definitions

centurion

[sen-too r-ee-uh n, -tyoo r-]
See more synonyms for centurion on Thesaurus.com
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.

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 for centurion

detective, captain, police, deputy, cop, sheriff, badge, arm, flatfoot, noncom, sergeant, centurion, mounty

Examples from the Web for centurion

Contemporary Examples of centurion

Historical Examples of centurion

  • 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

Word Origin for centurion

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper