Centimes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A fractional currency unit used in various countries, typically valued at one hundredth of the primary currency unit
2. A subdivision of currency in nations like France, where it serves as a minor denomination
3. An amount of money equivalent to one hundredth of a dollar or similar base currency in specific economies

Etymology: "Centimes" is the plural of "centime", a word English borrowed from French, where it names the hundredth part of the franc. The French word is built from "cent", meaning "hundred" (from Latin "centum"), with the ending "-ime" added on the model of the decimal system that France adopted during the Revolution. The "-ime" ending is an invented formation, so the word is a deliberate technical coinage rather than an inherited one. The same root gives "centimo" in Spanish and "centim" and "santim" in other languages, which all descend from the same coinage and so count as doublets of one another. Their forms vary because each language adapted the French original to its own spelling and pronunciation.