Centenary

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /sɛnˈtɛnəɹi/

Definitions

1. Pertaining to or lasting for a period of one hundred years ; the event marking the 100th anniversary of something, often celebrated with ceremonies
2. Connected with a century or a 100-year duration ; a special occasion commemorating the centennial milestone of an event or institution
3. Relating to the completion of a full hundred years ; a significant anniversary observed after one hundred years, typically with festivities or formal recognition

Etymology: Centenary descends from Latin "centum", "hundred", through "centēnārius", a term meaning "containing a hundred" or, for a Roman official, one who oversaw a hundred men. The sense of a hundredth anniversary came later. Latin centēnārius reached English either directly or through French "centenaire", which was built from "centēnī" ("a hundred each") plus the suffix "-ārius", the same ending that gives English "-ary". The word's main character is a surprise: the Roman sense of a hundred-man officer has nothing to do with time. The idea of a hundred years arrived because "hundred" was naturally tied to counting in groups, and the adjective gradually became a noun for a centennial celebration. The word shares its ancestry with "centner", "kantar" and "quintal", all units of weight derived from the same Latin roots, which entered their languages by different routes.

Synonyms: hundredth anniversary, century, century mark, hundredth year, 100th anniversary