Etymology

centum

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Today it means: Referring to an Indo-European language that did not produce sibilants from a series of Proto-Indo-European palatovelar stops. Full definition →

Latin centum
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centum · adjective1

  1. Latin · learned borrowing fromcentum“hundred”
  2. English todaycentum

Learned borrowing from Latin centum (“hundred”), attested at least since 1890s. Its use in linguistics is due to it being a canonical example of a word retaining an original velar stop, as opposed to Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬙𐬆𐬨 (satəm). Doublet of hundred and satem.

centum · noun2

  1. Sanskrit · calque ofशतक“a hundred; a satakam”
  2. English todaycentum

Calque of Sanskrit शतक (śataka, “a hundred; a satakam”). The latter meaning is attested at least since 1991 and is explained by 100-point academic grading in India.

Words from the same roots

Latincentum all →

centcenturioncentagecental

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.