centigrade
Americanadjective
noun
Usage
Although still used in meteorology, centigrade , when indicating the Celsius scale of temperature, is now usually avoided because of its possible confusion with the hundredth part of a grade
Because of confusion over the prefix centi–, which originally meant 100 but developed the meaning 1/100, scientists agreed to stop using the term centigrade in 1948. The term Celsius is now standard.
Etymology
Origin of centigrade
From French, dating back to 1805–15; see origin at centi-, -grade
Explanation
Centigrade is a unit for measuring temperature, based on the properties of water. The centigrade scale goes from zero to one hundred, where zero is the point where water freezes, and one hundred is when water boils. Centigrade is also called Celsius, but it’s never called Fahrenheit — because that’s a totally different measurement of temperature. Break centigrade down to its Latin roots: centum (meaning “a hundred”) and gradus (meaning “steps"). There are one hundred steps in the centigrade scale, see? There is a way to convert centigrade to Fahrenheit, but this is vocabulary not mathematics; you’re on your own with that.
Vocabulary lists containing centigrade
Perfect Ten: Dec, Cent, Mille
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Salt to the Sea
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dec, cent, mille
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Let's not delude ourselves, we're looking at human extinction, the death of eight billion people, and there's no way that people will be able to survive in anything like an increase of 5º centigrade.
From Salon • Oct. 24, 2024
In their research, the authors dissolved high melting point nickel and tin in a gallium based liquid metal with a melting point of only 30 degrees centigrade.
From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2023
“They have made the assumption that the reality is the world will be at above 2 degrees centigrade within a matter of decades,” Lieberthal said.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2023
“But it’s not always like this. We get near 30 degrees centigrade in the summer.”
From Washington Post • Jul. 29, 2022
In the centigrade scale, zero degrees is the freezing point of water.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
