centn.¹adj.¹

Brit.

/sɛnt/, U.S.

/sɛnt/

Forms: late Middle English kent, late Middle English 1600s 1800s–1900s cent. (with point), late Middle English– cent.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymons: French cent ; Latin centum ; centesm n.

Etymology: Partly < (i) Anglo-Norman and Middle French cent hundred (end of the 10th cent. in Old French; French cent ), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin centum hundred (see centum n.²), and partly (iii) shortened < centesm n. (perhaps originally as a graphic abbreviation).Specific senses. With use in sense 2 compare the following earlier, although apparently isolated, instances which show a graphic abbreviation for centesm n.:1658 G. Atwell Faithfull Surveyour i. 119 (table) Quart. feet. inch. cent.1658 G. Atwell Faithfull Surveyour ix. 141 To make the line of sines. Take off 0 inch, 6 tenths, and 6 centesmes..and set them from the nethermost cross-stroke... You shall take the distance between 8 inches, 4 tenths, 3 cent. and ten inches, and apply that distance from the middle-stroke down-ward. With this sense, compare also centesimal n. Apparently the first mention of cent in sense 3a(a) occurs in the source cited in quot. 1782, suggesting that the American monetary unit should be ¹/ ₁₄₄₀ of a dollar, and that a coin equal to 100 of these or ⁵/ ₇₂ of a dollar should be made, and called a cent . This proposal was not taken up; however, it may have suggested the name ‘cent’ for the coin valued at one-hundredth ¹/ ₁₀₀ of a dollar, ordained by the Continental Congress on 8 August 1786 (see quot. 1786 at sense 3a(a)). The earliest coins to be issued bearing the denomination ‘cent’ date from 1787 and came from the mint of the State of Massachusetts. Previously to the coining of the cent, or ¹/ ₁₀₀ of a dollar, and down to 1789, accounts were kept in dollars and ninetieths, a relic of the time when the Spanish piastre or piece of eight reals, called by the colonists ‘dollar’, was worth 7s. 6d. (90 pence) of the money of account of Maryland and Pennsylvania. In sense 3b after centime n. or its etymon French centime, perhaps originally as a graphic abbreviation. In sense 3c after Dutch cent (1816). Possible earlier currency. It is unclear whether the following earlier example (in sense 1) apparently showing a vernacular word in a Latin context should be taken as showing the Anglo-Norman or the English word:c1335 in F. R. Chapman Sacrist Rolls Ely (1907) II. 72 In v cent de bordnayl empt.

†1. A hundred. Obsolete.In quot. c1500 as adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > hundred

hundc893

hundredc950

centc1436

century1582

centenary1625

ton1962

c1436 Domesday Ipswich (BL Add. 25011) in T. Twiss Black Bk. Admiralty (1873) II. 193 Of eche cent. of borde of Irlond or of Estlond, that men clepyth eluying or waynscot.

c1450 (a1375) Octavian (Calig.) (1979) l. 1463 Hy massengers..broȝt wyth hem many stout cent Of greet lordynges.

c1500 G. Banester Guiscardo & Ghismonda (Rawl.) l. 5 in H. G. Wright Tales from Decameron (1937) 3 (MED) Bocas in cent [?a1475 BL Add. kent] nouellys witnessyth þe same.

1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. vii. 20 Of all Dowries exceeding 100 l. ther should be two out of every cent deducted..for putting off hard-favor'd and poor Maids.

1763 W. Perfect Bavin of Bays 134 Of Wealth, ye Pow'rs, I want but little store, One Cent per Annum, and I ask no more.

2. A hundredth part of a unit of measurement, esp. of an inch or (now spec.) an acre. Now South Asian.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > hundred > a hundredth

hundredth parta1300

centesm1483

second1619

cent1667

centesimal1677

hundredth1774

1667 J. Taylor Semicircle on Sector i. ix. 70 Three on the line of inches stands directly against 25 cents of foot measure.

1685 J. Warner in R. Boyle Gen. Hist. Air (1692) xvii. 134 The Mercury subsided 9 Cents of an Inch.

1690 H. Coggeshall Art of Pract. Measuring iv. 60 How many Perches are 15 cents of an Acre?

1817 T. Jefferson Let. 22 June in Papers (2014) Retirement Ser. XI. 461/1 The average of the water falling in the year being 47¼ I. gives .53 cents of an inch for each rain, or .93 cents for a week.

1851 Jrnl. Agric. Mar. 672 The quantity of rain, as estimated at Chiswick, was only 0.13 cents of an inch.

1883 Gazetteer Bombay Presidency VII. xiii. 608 The rainfall in 1879-80 was 12 inches 4 cents.

1908 W. Francis Nilgiris vi. 224 Since the Revenue Survey was introduced, acres and cents have been used, as elsewhere, in all official measurements.

1915 Times of India 4 Mar. 10/3 At the Colaba Observatory in Bombay 64 cents of an inch were measured.

1984 Times of India 19 Oct. 16/4 Those without land will get plots of four cents each (100 cents make an acre).

2015 Accord Fintech Newswire 30 June Kansai Nerolac Paints has received an approval for sale of company's land admeasuring 15.86 acres (15 acres 86 cents) at Perungudi, Chennai.

3. The hundredth part of a principal standard unit in various monetary systems.Often denoted by the symbol ¢ or by a lower-case letter ‘c’.

(a) A monetary unit of the United States, introduced in 1792, equivalent to one-hundredth of a dollar; a coin of this value (cf. penny n. 2c).In the source cited in quot. 1782 it is suggested that the American monetary unit should be ¹/ ₁₄₄₀ of a dollar, and that a coin equal to 100 of these or ⁵/ ₇₂ of a dollar should be made, and called a cent. This proposal was not taken up; however, it may have suggested the name ‘cent’ for the coin valued at one-hundredth of a dollar, proposed in 1786 (see quot. 1786), and approved by the Continental Congress later that year. The earliest coins to be issued bearing the denomination ‘cent’ date from 1787 and came from the mint of the State of Massachusetts; cents were first minted as official U.S. currency in 1793.Previously to the coining of the cent, or ¹/ ₁₀₀ of a dollar, and down to 1789, accounts were commonly kept in dollars and ninetieths. See note at ninetieth n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > North American coins > U.S.

quarter dollar1615

bit1683

quarter1776

cent1782

dollar1785

dime1786

eagle1786

half-dollar1786

half-eagle1786

sharpshin1804

picayune1805

caser1825

pic1839

double eagle1849

slug1851

hog1859

pine tree money1859

martin bita1884

meter1940

1782 R. Morris & G. Morris Let. 15 Jan. in R. Morris Papers (1978) IV. 36 One hundred [units] would be the lowest Silver Coin, and might be called a Cent.

1786 S. Osgood & W. Livingston Let. 8 Apr. in Rep. Board of Treasury (U.S.) 6 That the money of account..should proceed in a decimal ratio, agreeably to the forms and manner following, viz. Mills, The lowest money of accompt... Cents, The highest copper piece, of which one hundred shall be equal to the dollar... Dimes, The lowest silver coin... Dollar, The highest silver coin.

1793 Federal or New Ready Reckoner Introd. We cannot doubt but custom will soon give place to the plain and easy method of reckoning and keeping our accompts in Eagles, Dollars, Dimes, and Cents.

1804 in Naval Chron. 13 160 Seamen pay twenty Cents.

1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 40 I will give a cent to every little boy or girl.

1872 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 335 Potatoes, 6 cents. per pound; sugar, 20 to 30 cents.

1904 Boston Daily Globe 10 Jan. 2/8 When you have stepped on the platform and dropped a cent in the slot, your weight [is] stamped on a little piece of cardboard.

1977 Polish Amer. Stud. 34 77 Mazur wrote about..his early work in a Pittsburgh foundry for 50 cents a day.

2013 L. E. Burman & J. Slemrod Taxes Amer. iv. 99 The miller grinds up the flour and sells it to the baker for 40 cents.

(b) A monetary unit of any of various other countries having the dollar as the principal unit (as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, etc.), equivalent to one-hundredth of a dollar; a coin of this value.

ΚΠ

1853 Statutes Province Canada c. 158 The denominations of money in the Currency of this Province, shall be pounds, dollars, shillings, pence, cents and mills:..the cent shall be one-hundredth of a dollar and the mill one-tenth of a cent.

1864 Hampshire Tel. & Sussex Chron. 2 July 3/5 The reverse [of the coin] comprises a wreath and the inscription, ‘Hong Kong. 10 cents. 1863.’

1944 Econ. Jrnl. 54 19 Hong Kong retained the British trade dollar and a full-value subsidiary Hong Kong silver coinage expressed in cents until 1935, and this coinage alone was legal tender.

1966 Canberra Times 14 Feb. 8 (advt.) All hotel prices will be in dollars and cents.

1988 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Res. 31 372/2 Single copies..are free but please send a 60 cent stamp with your order. 10 or more copies are 50 cents each.

2010 W. Preston Sydney for Kids (ed. 5) 125/1 Kangaroos..can be hand-fed with food purchased from the Hard Croc Café for 50 cents.

b. = centime n. 1a. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > French coins > other French coins

denierc1425

Poitevina1475

blank1480

sousec1503

gigot1530

soulx1543

liarda1549

pistolor1550

obole1567

patard1583

double1586

whitea1634

sols1637

penny1656

centime1796

cent1810

sou1814

1810 Naval Chron. 24 302 47 francs 20 cents.

1851 J. H. Newman Lect. Present Position Catholics Eng. 111 A chair without cushion, two cents; a chair with cushion, four cents.

1856 Bankers' Mag. June 380 Sum total of operations, 46,801,130 francs 78 cents.

1933 Economist 14 Oct. 717/1 For each child after the first four, 3 francs 20 cents a day, or 80 francs a month.

2013 C. Irmscher Louis Agassiz v. 187 His final purchases he recorded in his little diary, laboriously converting French francs and cents into more familiar American money.

c. A former monetary unit of the Netherlands, equal to one-hundredth of a guilder; a coin of this value. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > other specific European

shilling great1474

cent1816

grano1858

dinar1882

para1885

single European currency1950

Euro1971

EUR1996

mark1997

1816 Times 4 July The subdivisions of the [Dutch] guilder shall be the half guilder, containing 50 cents.; the quarter guilder, or 25 cents.; [etc.].

1821 P. Kelly Universal Cambist (ed. 2) II. 196/1 The Florin of 1816 bears the same impressions as the 10 Florin Piece. Pieces of 25, 10, and 5 Cents, simply bear a W crowned, and on the reverse, the King's arms.

1850 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 28 Dec. 411/2 The girl..had a copper cent stuck in the middle of her forehead, which, she said, was to cure the headache.

1922 Monthly Labor Rev. 14 132 Each worker contributed from 20 Dutch cents (about 8 American cents at par) to one florin.

1993 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 14 Mar. 7 d The individual stamps are denominated between 70 and 90 (Dutch) cents.

d. A monetary unit equivalent to one-hundredth of any of various principal monetary units, as the South African rand, Kenyan shilling, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > other spec.

markc1475

bar1732

rix-dollar1803

Canadian dollar1841

centime1842

pound1857

cent1871

commodity dollar1891

credit1893

shilling1921

centime1942

larin1978

1871 in Ordinances enacted 1871 (Ceylon) (1872) 3 The Currency of this Island will, on the 1st January, 1872, be changed from Pounds, shillings, and pence, to Rupees and Cents.

1890 Bull. Misc. Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) No. 41. 102 The cutting of the leaves costs from 50 cents to one rupee the 100 bundles of 25 leaves each.

1961 Kenya Gaz. 21 Feb. 214/2 The rate levied on all land in the area of the County outside Eldoret Municipality, amounting to Sh 50 for the first 200 acres and 10 cents per acre for each additional acre.

1988 TDR 32 48 It is expected for someone to say that he is giving 40 leones yet to present only 4 cents.

2013 Daily News (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 1 Nov. 11 Her total household monthly income is under R2500, so she is careful with her rands and cents.

e. A monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a euro; a coin of this value; = euro cent n. at Euro n.² Compounds.

ΚΠ

1995 Irish Times 15 Dec. (On The Margin Suppl.) 16/1 The Margins [sic] sources, deep in Brussels, believe that the ministers may opt for ‘cents’—in other words there will be 100 cents in a Euro.

2001 Times 27 June ii. 8/1 There will be eight coins ranging from one cent to two euros (around £1.20). Each coin has the € on one side and on the reverse, the national symbol of the participating country.

2015 Irish Independent (Nexis) 27 Jan. 4 What does it mean to the farmer, in actual euros and cents, when someone buys heavily discounted vegetables?

4. Originally and chiefly North American. As the type of the smallest amount of money possible; (also) as the type of anything having little or no value (now rare). Usually in negative expressions. Cf. red cent n. at red adj. and n. Compounds 1f(c)(i), penny n. 3c.

ΚΠ

1797 A. Bishop Georgia Speculation Unveiled i. 22 All the lands claimed under the usurped act, are not worth one cent.

1836 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker (1837) 1st ser. vii. 46 As for Latin and Greek, we don't valy it a cent.

1872 E. Eggleston End of World 11 I don't believe that you'd care a cent if she did marry a Dutchman!

1887 A. W. Tourgée Button's Inn 131 Your dying wouldn't do her a cent's worth of good.

1902 W. N. Harben Abner Daniel 59 He'd cut her off without a cent.

1922 Amer. Garage & Auto Dealer Dec. 13/1 She don't care a cent what you do with em.

1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) i. 23 He left with my schnapper boat that he promised to pay for and never paid a damn cent.

1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 23/6 If Vancouver just had to pay for an orchestra it wouldn't make a cent.

2011 K. West et al. 50 Things every Young Lady should Know vi. 20 Compliments are the gifts we give to others that don't cost a cent.

5. Music and Acoustics. A unit of pitch equal to the one hundredth part of a tempered semitone or ¹/ ₁₂₀₀ of an octave.Introduced by Alexander J. Ellis (1814–90) as a means of measuring and comparing small intervals.The ratio of the frequencies of two notes one cent apart is equal to the 1200th root of 2, or approx. 1.0005777895.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > [noun] > unit of pitch

cent1877

mel1937

1877 A. J. Ellis in Proc. Musical Assoc. (3rd Sess., 1876–7) 5 Such an interval, which will be naturally called a cent, is represented almost precisely by ¹⁷³²/ ₁₇₃₁.

1884 Proc. Royal Soc. 37 381 Tamboura or Sien-tsu, a three-stringed guitar with circular body and long neck without frets. The strings were tuned to 239, 266, and 400 vib., making the intervals 185 and 706 cents.

1936 Mus. Q. 22 218 A Pythagorean major third is 408 cents; a just major third, 386 cents; a tempered major third, 400 cents.

1965 Man 65 124/2 He refers briefly to India where a deviation of 20 cents (2/10ths of a semitone) is a discernible part of musical style.

1984 M. Lindley Lutes, Viols & Temperament i. 5 A perfect 5th in equal temperament is theoretically smaller than pure. The amount—two cents—is just enough for most keyboard-tuners to have to take it into account.

2007 Jrnl. Res. Mus. Educ. 55 197 Because of the normal fluctuation of pitch associated with vocal timbre, a ‘match’ was defined as any F₀[= fundamental frequency] that fell within a quarter-tone (50 cents) on either side of the stimulus pitch F₀.

Phrases

cent per cent.

a. With reference to interest, profit, etc.: a hundred for every hundred; a sum equal in amount to the principal; interest paid or charged at this or a similar rate; (also) an agreement or undertaking to pay interest at such a rate. Also attributive, as cent per cent profit, etc. Also figurative. Now rare. [Compare Italian cento per cento (1535 or earlier); the form cento por cento in quot. 1576 appears to reflect a misapprehension of the Italian phrase. Compare also per cent adv., per cento adv.]

ΚΠ

1576 G. Gascoigne Steele Glas sig. F.iiii To gaine no more, but Cento por cento.]

1618 T. Roe in Embassy to Court Great Mogul (1899) II. 487 Any of theis in needleworke or imbroiderie will sell cent. per cent. or not much les.

1652 J. Darell Strange News from Indies 21 The proceed..would amount at least to 60. per cent. profit, which makes 8000 li. and thence to England, cent. per cent...amounts to 16000 li.

c1677 A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery 38 Pay Cent. per Cent. more than the things are worth.

1696 J. Ovington Voy. Suratt 391 They commonly make Cent per Cent.

?1700 E. W. tr. A. de Castillo Solórzano Life Donna Rosina i. 36 The Cargo he had brought home at Cent per Cent profit.

1762 T. Fitzmaurice Let. 26 Feb. in E. C. Mossner & I. S. Ross Corr. A. Smith (1977) lxiv. 83 Tradesmen certainly make at least cent per cent of their Money here.

a1811 R. Cumberland tr. Aristophanes Clouds in T. Mitchell tr. Aristophanes Comedies (1822) II. 127 Hence with your registers, your cents-per-cent.

1884 Times (Weekly ed.) 29 Aug. 15/2 A score or so of sheep, which he had sold for nearly cent. per cent. in Scotland.

1910 Textile World Rec. Dec. 82/1 He can make cent per cent on a capital of $15,000.

1928 R. A. Freeman Flighty Phyllis (2001) 100 ‘Who the deuce can they be?’ exclaimed Charlie, returning Althea's smile with cent per cent interest.

1944 G. Heyer Friday's Child ii. 25 Never heard of a cent-per-cent in your life, have you, brat?

2003 R. P. Mohanty Dalits Devel. & Change 53 [They] have taken to lending money to the Bāuris at cent per cent interest per annum.

b. = one hundred per cent at hundred n. and adj. 2c.

(a) Used adverbially: totally, completely. Now chiefly Indian English.

ΚΠ

1686 G. Harvey Conclave of Physicians (ed. 2) i. xi. 114 The term of a Remitting Fever..yet not being found among the Records of Hippocrates..and the rest of those Ancient Physicians, who in knowledge and distinction of Diseases exceeded us cent per cent.

1729 C. Johnson Village Opera i. i. 10 La. Wise. Methinks it is pity but the young Folks had seen one another before Marriage. Sir Nich. No, Wise, no; t'is Cent. per Cent. better as it is.

1766 D. Garrick Let. 12 Apr. in R. B. Peake Mem. Colman family (1841) I. vi. 180 I am in general, cent per cent. better, for my present purgatory. Qualms, pukings, and yellowness..have left me.

1827 New Times 24 Oct. 1/1 (advt.) The Patent Jacks and Ranges will be found upwards of cent. per cent. better than any others.

1890 Lancaster Gaz. 26 Mar. 1/1 Who shall say that human differences are not cent. per cent. worse than brute differences?

1895 Morning Post 18 Jan. 1/3 (heading) Unparalleled [exam] results—cent. per cent. successful.

1973 Times of India 20 Apr. 14/6 The touring Australian cricketers kept their cent per cent unbeaten record intact.

2004 A. Verghese in A. Kumar Away 281 The night matron ushered me out. ‘Cent per cent fatal, Doctor,’ she said... ‘By morning? All over.’

(b) Used adjectivally: total, complete. Chiefly Indian English.

ΚΠ

1915 Rep. Public Instr. Bengal 1913–14 vi. 9 Compared with the needs of Western Bengal, the present outturn, notwithstanding cent. per cent. successes, is exceedingly meagre.

1941 Times of India 4 Feb. 10/2 The Congress Party..inflicted a cent per cent defeat on its Hindu Sabha rivals in the new triennial elections.

2008 K. Subha et al. in G. Palanithurai Dynamics New Panchayati Raj Syst. India VI. vii. 184 It will not be an exaggeration to say that the programme could achieve cent per cent success in meeting its objectives.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	cent
释义	centn.¹adj.¹ Brit. /sɛnt/, U.S. /sɛnt/ Forms: late Middle English kent, late Middle English 1600s 1800s–1900s cent. (with point), late Middle English– cent. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymons: French cent ; Latin centum ; centesm n. Etymology: Partly < (i) Anglo-Norman and Middle French cent hundred (end of the 10th cent. in Old French; French cent ), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin centum hundred (see centum n.²), and partly (iii) shortened < centesm n. (perhaps originally as a graphic abbreviation).Specific senses. With use in sense 2 compare the following earlier, although apparently isolated, instances which show a graphic abbreviation for centesm n.:1658 G. Atwell Faithfull Surveyour i. 119 (table) Quart. feet. inch. cent.1658 G. Atwell Faithfull Surveyour ix. 141 To make the line of sines. Take off 0 inch, 6 tenths, and 6 centesmes..and set them from the nethermost cross-stroke... You shall take the distance between 8 inches, 4 tenths, 3 cent. and ten inches, and apply that distance from the middle-stroke down-ward. With this sense, compare also centesimal n. Apparently the first mention of cent in sense 3a(a) occurs in the source cited in quot. 1782, suggesting that the American monetary unit should be ¹/ ₁₄₄₀ of a dollar, and that a coin equal to 100 of these or ⁵/ ₇₂ of a dollar should be made, and called a cent . This proposal was not taken up; however, it may have suggested the name ‘cent’ for the coin valued at one-hundredth ¹/ ₁₀₀ of a dollar, ordained by the Continental Congress on 8 August 1786 (see quot. 1786 at sense 3a(a)). The earliest coins to be issued bearing the denomination ‘cent’ date from 1787 and came from the mint of the State of Massachusetts. Previously to the coining of the cent, or ¹/ ₁₀₀ of a dollar, and down to 1789, accounts were kept in dollars and ninetieths, a relic of the time when the Spanish piastre or piece of eight reals, called by the colonists ‘dollar’, was worth 7s. 6d. (90 pence) of the money of account of Maryland and Pennsylvania. In sense 3b after centime n. or its etymon French centime, perhaps originally as a graphic abbreviation. In sense 3c after Dutch cent (1816). Possible earlier currency. It is unclear whether the following earlier example (in sense 1) apparently showing a vernacular word in a Latin context should be taken as showing the Anglo-Norman or the English word:c1335 in F. R. Chapman Sacrist Rolls Ely (1907) II. 72 In v cent de bordnayl empt. †1. A hundred. Obsolete.In quot. c1500 as adj. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > hundred hundc893 hundredc950 centc1436 century1582 centenary1625 ton1962 c1436 Domesday Ipswich (BL Add. 25011) in T. Twiss Black Bk. Admiralty (1873) II. 193 Of eche cent. of borde of Irlond or of Estlond, that men clepyth eluying or waynscot. c1450 (a1375) Octavian (Calig.) (1979) l. 1463 Hy massengers..broȝt wyth hem many stout cent Of greet lordynges. c1500 G. Banester Guiscardo & Ghismonda (Rawl.) l. 5 in H. G. Wright Tales from Decameron (1937) 3 (MED) Bocas in cent [?a1475 BL Add. kent] nouellys witnessyth þe same. 1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. vii. 20 Of all Dowries exceeding 100 l. ther should be two out of every cent deducted..for putting off hard-favor'd and poor Maids. 1763 W. Perfect Bavin of Bays 134 Of Wealth, ye Pow'rs, I want but little store, One Cent per Annum, and I ask no more. 2. A hundredth part of a unit of measurement, esp. of an inch or (now spec.) an acre. Now South Asian. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > hundred > a hundredth hundredth parta1300 centesm1483 second1619 cent1667 centesimal1677 hundredth1774 1667 J. Taylor Semicircle on Sector i. ix. 70 Three on the line of inches stands directly against 25 cents of foot measure. 1685 J. Warner in R. Boyle Gen. Hist. Air (1692) xvii. 134 The Mercury subsided 9 Cents of an Inch. 1690 H. Coggeshall Art of Pract. Measuring iv. 60 How many Perches are 15 cents of an Acre? 1817 T. Jefferson Let. 22 June in Papers (2014) Retirement Ser. XI. 461/1 The average of the water falling in the year being 47¼ I. gives .53 cents of an inch for each rain, or .93 cents for a week. 1851 Jrnl. Agric. Mar. 672 The quantity of rain, as estimated at Chiswick, was only 0.13 cents of an inch. 1883 Gazetteer Bombay Presidency VII. xiii. 608 The rainfall in 1879-80 was 12 inches 4 cents. 1908 W. Francis Nilgiris vi. 224 Since the Revenue Survey was introduced, acres and cents have been used, as elsewhere, in all official measurements. 1915 Times of India 4 Mar. 10/3 At the Colaba Observatory in Bombay 64 cents of an inch were measured. 1984 Times of India 19 Oct. 16/4 Those without land will get plots of four cents each (100 cents make an acre). 2015 Accord Fintech Newswire 30 June Kansai Nerolac Paints has received an approval for sale of company's land admeasuring 15.86 acres (15 acres 86 cents) at Perungudi, Chennai. 3. The hundredth part of a principal standard unit in various monetary systems.Often denoted by the symbol ¢ or by a lower-case letter ‘c’. a. (a) A monetary unit of the United States, introduced in 1792, equivalent to one-hundredth of a dollar; a coin of this value (cf. penny n. 2c).In the source cited in quot. 1782 it is suggested that the American monetary unit should be ¹/ ₁₄₄₀ of a dollar, and that a coin equal to 100 of these or ⁵/ ₇₂ of a dollar should be made, and called a cent. This proposal was not taken up; however, it may have suggested the name ‘cent’ for the coin valued at one-hundredth of a dollar, proposed in 1786 (see quot. 1786), and approved by the Continental Congress later that year. The earliest coins to be issued bearing the denomination ‘cent’ date from 1787 and came from the mint of the State of Massachusetts; cents were first minted as official U.S. currency in 1793.Previously to the coining of the cent, or ¹/ ₁₀₀ of a dollar, and down to 1789, accounts were commonly kept in dollars and ninetieths. See note at ninetieth n. 2. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > North American coins > U.S. quarter dollar1615 bit1683 quarter1776 cent1782 dollar1785 dime1786 eagle1786 half-dollar1786 half-eagle1786 sharpshin1804 picayune1805 caser1825 pic1839 double eagle1849 slug1851 hog1859 pine tree money1859 martin bita1884 meter1940 1782 R. Morris & G. Morris Let. 15 Jan. in R. Morris Papers (1978) IV. 36 One hundred [units] would be the lowest Silver Coin, and might be called a Cent. 1786 S. Osgood & W. Livingston Let. 8 Apr. in Rep. Board of Treasury (U.S.) 6 That the money of account..should proceed in a decimal ratio, agreeably to the forms and manner following, viz. Mills, The lowest money of accompt... Cents, The highest copper piece, of which one hundred shall be equal to the dollar... Dimes, The lowest silver coin... Dollar, The highest silver coin. 1793 Federal or New Ready Reckoner Introd. We cannot doubt but custom will soon give place to the plain and easy method of reckoning and keeping our accompts in Eagles, Dollars, Dimes, and Cents. 1804 in Naval Chron. 13 160 Seamen pay twenty Cents. 1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 40 I will give a cent to every little boy or girl. 1872 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 335 Potatoes, 6 cents. per pound; sugar, 20 to 30 cents. 1904 Boston Daily Globe 10 Jan. 2/8 When you have stepped on the platform and dropped a cent in the slot, your weight [is] stamped on a little piece of cardboard. 1977 Polish Amer. Stud. 34 77 Mazur wrote about..his early work in a Pittsburgh foundry for 50 cents a day. 2013 L. E. Burman & J. Slemrod Taxes Amer. iv. 99 The miller grinds up the flour and sells it to the baker for 40 cents. (b) A monetary unit of any of various other countries having the dollar as the principal unit (as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, etc.), equivalent to one-hundredth of a dollar; a coin of this value. ΚΠ 1853 Statutes Province Canada c. 158 The denominations of money in the Currency of this Province, shall be pounds, dollars, shillings, pence, cents and mills:..the cent shall be one-hundredth of a dollar and the mill one-tenth of a cent. 1864 Hampshire Tel. & Sussex Chron. 2 July 3/5 The reverse [of the coin] comprises a wreath and the inscription, ‘Hong Kong. 10 cents. 1863.’ 1944 Econ. Jrnl. 54 19 Hong Kong retained the British trade dollar and a full-value subsidiary Hong Kong silver coinage expressed in cents until 1935, and this coinage alone was legal tender. 1966 Canberra Times 14 Feb. 8 (advt.) All hotel prices will be in dollars and cents. 1988 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Res. 31 372/2 Single copies..are free but please send a 60 cent stamp with your order. 10 or more copies are 50 cents each. 2010 W. Preston Sydney for Kids (ed. 5) 125/1 Kangaroos..can be hand-fed with food purchased from the Hard Croc Café for 50 cents. b. = centime n. 1a. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > French coins > other French coins denierc1425 Poitevina1475 blank1480 sousec1503 gigot1530 soulx1543 liarda1549 pistolor1550 obole1567 patard1583 double1586 whitea1634 sols1637 penny1656 centime1796 cent1810 sou1814 1810 Naval Chron. 24 302 47 francs 20 cents. 1851 J. H. Newman Lect. Present Position Catholics Eng. 111 A chair without cushion, two cents; a chair with cushion, four cents. 1856 Bankers' Mag. June 380 Sum total of operations, 46,801,130 francs 78 cents. 1933 Economist 14 Oct. 717/1 For each child after the first four, 3 francs 20 cents a day, or 80 francs a month. 2013 C. Irmscher Louis Agassiz v. 187 His final purchases he recorded in his little diary, laboriously converting French francs and cents into more familiar American money. c. A former monetary unit of the Netherlands, equal to one-hundredth of a guilder; a coin of this value. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > other specific European shilling great1474 cent1816 grano1858 dinar1882 para1885 single European currency1950 Euro1971 EUR1996 mark1997 1816 Times 4 July The subdivisions of the [Dutch] guilder shall be the half guilder, containing 50 cents.; the quarter guilder, or 25 cents.; [etc.]. 1821 P. Kelly Universal Cambist (ed. 2) II. 196/1 The Florin of 1816 bears the same impressions as the 10 Florin Piece. Pieces of 25, 10, and 5 Cents, simply bear a W crowned, and on the reverse, the King's arms. 1850 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 28 Dec. 411/2 The girl..had a copper cent stuck in the middle of her forehead, which, she said, was to cure the headache. 1922 Monthly Labor Rev. 14 132 Each worker contributed from 20 Dutch cents (about 8 American cents at par) to one florin. 1993 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 14 Mar. 7 d The individual stamps are denominated between 70 and 90 (Dutch) cents. d. A monetary unit equivalent to one-hundredth of any of various principal monetary units, as the South African rand, Kenyan shilling, etc. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > other spec. markc1475 bar1732 rix-dollar1803 Canadian dollar1841 centime1842 pound1857 cent1871 commodity dollar1891 credit1893 shilling1921 centime1942 larin1978 1871 in Ordinances enacted 1871 (Ceylon) (1872) 3 The Currency of this Island will, on the 1st January, 1872, be changed from Pounds, shillings, and pence, to Rupees and Cents. 1890 Bull. Misc. Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) No. 41. 102 The cutting of the leaves costs from 50 cents to one rupee the 100 bundles of 25 leaves each. 1961 Kenya Gaz. 21 Feb. 214/2 The rate levied on all land in the area of the County outside Eldoret Municipality, amounting to Sh 50 for the first 200 acres and 10 cents per acre for each additional acre. 1988 TDR 32 48 It is expected for someone to say that he is giving 40 leones yet to present only 4 cents. 2013 Daily News (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 1 Nov. 11 Her total household monthly income is under R2500, so she is careful with her rands and cents. e. A monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a euro; a coin of this value; = euro cent n. at Euro n.² Compounds. ΚΠ 1995 Irish Times 15 Dec. (On The Margin Suppl.) 16/1 The Margins [sic] sources, deep in Brussels, believe that the ministers may opt for ‘cents’—in other words there will be 100 cents in a Euro. 2001 Times 27 June ii. 8/1 There will be eight coins ranging from one cent to two euros (around £1.20). Each coin has the € on one side and on the reverse, the national symbol of the participating country. 2015 Irish Independent (Nexis) 27 Jan. 4 What does it mean to the farmer, in actual euros and cents, when someone buys heavily discounted vegetables? 4. Originally and chiefly North American. As the type of the smallest amount of money possible; (also) as the type of anything having little or no value (now rare). Usually in negative expressions. Cf. red cent n. at red adj. and n. Compounds 1f(c)(i), penny n. 3c. ΚΠ 1797 A. Bishop Georgia Speculation Unveiled i. 22 All the lands claimed under the usurped act, are not worth one cent. 1836 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker (1837) 1st ser. vii. 46 As for Latin and Greek, we don't valy it a cent. 1872 E. Eggleston End of World 11 I don't believe that you'd care a cent if she did marry a Dutchman! 1887 A. W. Tourgée Button's Inn 131 Your dying wouldn't do her a cent's worth of good. 1902 W. N. Harben Abner Daniel 59 He'd cut her off without a cent. 1922 Amer. Garage & Auto Dealer Dec. 13/1 She don't care a cent what you do with em. 1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) i. 23 He left with my schnapper boat that he promised to pay for and never paid a damn cent. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 23/6 If Vancouver just had to pay for an orchestra it wouldn't make a cent. 2011 K. West et al. 50 Things every Young Lady should Know vi. 20 Compliments are the gifts we give to others that don't cost a cent. 5. Music and Acoustics. A unit of pitch equal to the one hundredth part of a tempered semitone or ¹/ ₁₂₀₀ of an octave.Introduced by Alexander J. Ellis (1814–90) as a means of measuring and comparing small intervals.The ratio of the frequencies of two notes one cent apart is equal to the 1200th root of 2, or approx. 1.0005777895. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > [noun] > unit of pitch cent1877 mel1937 1877 A. J. Ellis in Proc. Musical Assoc. (3rd Sess., 1876–7) 5 Such an interval, which will be naturally called a cent, is represented almost precisely by ¹⁷³²/ ₁₇₃₁. 1884 Proc. Royal Soc. 37 381 Tamboura or Sien-tsu, a three-stringed guitar with circular body and long neck without frets. The strings were tuned to 239, 266, and 400 vib., making the intervals 185 and 706 cents. 1936 Mus. Q. 22 218 A Pythagorean major third is 408 cents; a just major third, 386 cents; a tempered major third, 400 cents. 1965 Man 65 124/2 He refers briefly to India where a deviation of 20 cents (2/10ths of a semitone) is a discernible part of musical style. 1984 M. Lindley Lutes, Viols & Temperament i. 5 A perfect 5th in equal temperament is theoretically smaller than pure. The amount—two cents—is just enough for most keyboard-tuners to have to take it into account. 2007 Jrnl. Res. Mus. Educ. 55 197 Because of the normal fluctuation of pitch associated with vocal timbre, a ‘match’ was defined as any F₀[= fundamental frequency] that fell within a quarter-tone (50 cents) on either side of the stimulus pitch F₀. Phrases cent per cent. a. With reference to interest, profit, etc.: a hundred for every hundred; a sum equal in amount to the principal; interest paid or charged at this or a similar rate; (also) an agreement or undertaking to pay interest at such a rate. Also attributive, as cent per cent profit, etc. Also figurative. Now rare. [Compare Italian cento per cento (1535 or earlier); the form cento por cento in quot. 1576 appears to reflect a misapprehension of the Italian phrase. Compare also per cent adv., per cento adv.] ΚΠ 1576 G. Gascoigne Steele Glas sig. F.iiii To gaine no more, but Cento por cento.] 1618 T. Roe in Embassy to Court Great Mogul (1899) II. 487 Any of theis in needleworke or imbroiderie will sell cent. per cent. or not much les. 1652 J. Darell Strange News from Indies 21 The proceed..would amount at least to 60. per cent. profit, which makes 8000 li. and thence to England, cent. per cent...amounts to 16000 li. c1677 A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery 38 Pay Cent. per Cent. more than the things are worth. 1696 J. Ovington Voy. Suratt 391 They commonly make Cent per Cent. ?1700 E. W. tr. A. de Castillo Solórzano Life Donna Rosina i. 36 The Cargo he had brought home at Cent per Cent profit. 1762 T. Fitzmaurice Let. 26 Feb. in E. C. Mossner & I. S. Ross Corr. A. Smith (1977) lxiv. 83 Tradesmen certainly make at least cent per cent of their Money here. a1811 R. Cumberland tr. Aristophanes Clouds in T. Mitchell tr. Aristophanes Comedies (1822) II. 127 Hence with your registers, your cents-per-cent. 1884 Times (Weekly ed.) 29 Aug. 15/2 A score or so of sheep, which he had sold for nearly cent. per cent. in Scotland. 1910 Textile World Rec. Dec. 82/1 He can make cent per cent on a capital of $15,000. 1928 R. A. Freeman Flighty Phyllis (2001) 100 ‘Who the deuce can they be?’ exclaimed Charlie, returning Althea's smile with cent per cent interest. 1944 G. Heyer Friday's Child ii. 25 Never heard of a cent-per-cent in your life, have you, brat? 2003 R. P. Mohanty Dalits Devel. & Change 53 [They] have taken to lending money to the Bāuris at cent per cent interest per annum. b. = one hundred per cent at hundred n. and adj. 2c. (a) Used adverbially: totally, completely. Now chiefly Indian English. ΚΠ 1686 G. Harvey Conclave of Physicians (ed. 2) i. xi. 114 The term of a Remitting Fever..yet not being found among the Records of Hippocrates..and the rest of those Ancient Physicians, who in knowledge and distinction of Diseases exceeded us cent per cent. 1729 C. Johnson Village Opera i. i. 10 La. Wise. Methinks it is pity but the young Folks had seen one another before Marriage. Sir Nich. No, Wise, no; t'is Cent. per Cent. better as it is. 1766 D. Garrick Let. 12 Apr. in R. B. Peake Mem. Colman family (1841) I. vi. 180 I am in general, cent per cent. better, for my present purgatory. Qualms, pukings, and yellowness..have left me. 1827 New Times 24 Oct. 1/1 (advt.) The Patent Jacks and Ranges will be found upwards of cent. per cent. better than any others. 1890 Lancaster Gaz. 26 Mar. 1/1 Who shall say that human differences are not cent. per cent. worse than brute differences? 1895 Morning Post 18 Jan. 1/3 (heading) Unparalleled [exam] results—cent. per cent. successful. 1973 Times of India 20 Apr. 14/6 The touring Australian cricketers kept their cent per cent unbeaten record intact. 2004 A. Verghese in A. Kumar Away 281 The night matron ushered me out. ‘Cent per cent fatal, Doctor,’ she said... ‘By morning? All over.’ (b) Used adjectivally: total, complete. Chiefly Indian English. ΚΠ 1915 Rep. Public Instr. Bengal 1913–14 vi. 9 Compared with the needs of Western Bengal, the present outturn, notwithstanding cent. per cent. successes, is exceedingly meagre. 1941 Times of India 4 Feb. 10/2 The Congress Party..inflicted a cent per cent defeat on its Hindu Sabha rivals in the new triennial elections. 2008 K. Subha et al. in G. Palanithurai Dynamics New Panchayati Raj Syst. India VI. vii. 184 It will not be an exaggeration to say that the programme could achieve cent per cent success in meeting its objectives. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021). centn.² Brit. /sɒnt/, /sɛnt/, U.S. /sɑnt/, /sɛnt/ Forms: 1500s–1600s cente, 1500s–1600s saint, 1500s–1600s sant, 1500s–1600s saunt, 1500s– cent, 1600s sent, 1900s– sand (historical). Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French cent. Etymology: < Middle French, French (now hist.) cent an early form of the card game piquet (1534 or earlier), type of counter used in playing ombre (1721 in the passage translated in quot. 2), specific sense developments of cent hundred (see cent n.¹), with reference to 100 as the score needed to end the game. Compare later ciento n. historical after 17th cent. 1. An early form of the card game piquet, in which the game ends when one of the players scores a total of 100 points.The game was later known as piquet au cent. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > piquet > [noun] > varieties of maw1548 centc1555 mount cent1599 Mayo?c1650 cientoc1690 Rubicon1873 klobbiyos1892 Sant1909 c1555 Manifest Detection Diceplay sig. Avii^v Bycause I allegded ygnorance [of dice],..we ii. fel to saunt fiue games a Crowne. 1578 Househ. Bk. Ld. North in Argaeologia (1821) 19 297 Lost at Saint..xv s. 1591 R. Greene Notable Discouery of Coosenage f. 4^v Primero, Primo visto, Saunt, one and thirtie, new cut, or what shall bee the game? 1600 S. Rowlands Letting of Humors Blood iii. 58 He hath Cardes for any kind of game, Primero, Saunt; or whatsoeuer name. 1636 W. Denny in Ann. Dubrensia sig. C2^v Cent for those Gentry, who their states have marr'd, That Game, befitts them, for they must discard. 1679 tr. T. A. d'Aubigné Hell Illuminated ii. vi. 127 After Dinner we spent all the day in playing at Cent. 1789 R. Twiss Chess II. 125 There is a scene about playing at Cent, in ‘the Dumb Knight, a historicall comedie’, 1608. 1855 W. K. Kelly tr. Queen Margaret of Angoulême Heptameron lix. 362 He said he knew nothing better for the purpose than to play at cent. 1997 D. Gaze Dict. Women Artists I. 40/2 She was at Calais in 1539 helping to teach Anne the card game of cent. 2010 K. Emerson By Royal Decree ii. 17 They were playing cent, a popular card game. †2. A type of counter or chip used in playing the game of ombre. Obsolete (historical in later use). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > ombre and quadrille > [noun] > equipment ombre table1711 ombre-box1734 cent1768 1768 tr. Abbé Bellecour Acad. Play 90 You are first to distribute twenty Counters and nine Fish to each Player; and remember that each Fish is worth twenty Counters, and is called a Cent [Fr. Cent]. You will then agree on the value of the Fish whether it shall be five, ten, twenty or thirty pence. 1874 Ld. Aldenham Game of Ombre ii. 7 It is better..to have rounds of two sizes, the larger, which used to be called Cents. 1878 H. H. Gibbs Game of Ombre (ed. 2) 8 The larger round counters which used to be called Cents count as twenty points. Compounds † cent-foot n. Obsolete rare (apparently) = foot-saunt n. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > other card games > [noun] > cent-foot foot-saunt1579 cent-foot1638 1638 R. Brathwait Barnabees Journall (new ed.) ii. sig. H2 I at Cards plaid with a girle..At Cent-foot I often moved Her to love me whom I loved. 1658 R. Brathwait Age of Apes in Honest Ghost 151 To th' Cent we goe, where we at Cent-foot play, By which our hidden meanings we bewray. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021). cent.n.³ Forms: 1600s– cent., 2000s cent (without point). Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: century n. Etymology: Shortened < century n. (as a graphic abbreviation). As a graphic abbreviation: = century n. 6. ΘΚΠ the world > time > period > year > [noun] > period of specific number of years > a century secle?1533 siecle?1533 age1587 centenary1591 century1591 hundreda1656 cent.1687 centennium1828 1687 E. Millington Catal. Eng. Bks. C. Mearne's 2 Lives of the Fath. of the Church that flourish'd in the IV Cent. 1767 A. Maclaine in tr. J. L. von Mosheim Eccl. Hist. (new ed.) IV. Index 46/2 Palamas, Gregory, defends the Quietist monks in the xiv. cent. against Barlaam. 1845 Catholic Tel. 3 July 206/3 The compass was unquestionably known in France in the commencement of the twelfth Cent. 1862 ‘G. Eliot’ Let. 17 May (1956) IV. 34 We..went to the Printroom of the British Museum to see Italian portraits of 15th cent. 1921 Encycl. Relig. & Ethics XII. 151 The theology taught in the second half of the 19th cent. at the Protestant Faculty of Paris by Professors Auguste Sabatier and Eugène Ménégoz. 1997 L. A. Reilly Archit. Hist. Peterborough Cathedral ii. 30 (note) The 14th-cent. lantern walls consisted of a thin facing of Barnack stone with rubble and ‘pitmortar’. 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 7 May l8 Contemporary & early 20th cent French paintings show. Closes 6/10. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online September 2021). cent.adj.² Forms: 1800s– cent., 1900s– cent (without point). Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: centigrade adj. Etymology: Shortened < centigrade adj. (as a graphic abbreviation). Now rare. As a graphic abbreviation: = centigrade adj. (chiefly as a postmodifier). ΘΚΠ the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > measurement of temperature > [adjective] > specific scales centesimal1635 centigrade1799 Réaumur1799 Fahrenheit1807 cent.1809 Celsius1878 Kelvin1911 Rankine1933 1809 B. Parr London Med. Dict. II. 655 (caption) Table of the degrees of different thermometers..at which some remarkable chemical phenomena occur. Reau[mur]. Fahr[enheit]. Cent. 1812 Jrnl. Nat. Philos. 31 363 I constantly found, that the temperature of animals exposed to a higher heat than 35° or 40° cent. [95° or 104° F.] rose in a very striking degree. 1874 A. Fendler Mechanism of Universe 92 It would require an additional quantity of combustible matter to bring the whole column of air up to 273° Cent. 1929 Michigan Technic Jan. 30/2 These furnaces are generally designed for temperatures up to 950 deg. cent. 1963 Symp. Radiation Effects on Metals & Neutron Dosimetry (Amer. Soc. Testing & Materials) 261 (caption) Test temperature, deg Cent. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2020). < n.¹adj.¹c1436n.²c1555n.³1687adj.²1809
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