Centimetre

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsɛn.tɪ.miː.tə/

Definitions

1. A measurement unit in the metric system that represents one hundredth of a meter, commonly employed in scientific and practical applications for small lengths and distances
2. A length unit equivalent to 0.01 meters in the metric system, frequently used in scientific disciplines and everyday situations where precision is needed
3. A metric length measurement equal to one one-hundredth of a meter, used for precise measurement of short distances

Etymology: The metre was defined in France during the Revolution as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the Equator, and the prefix "centi-" comes from Latin "centum", meaning hundred. A centimetre is therefore a hundredth of that unit, and the word is simply the French "centimètre" taken into English, built from "centi-" and "metre" in the same way as its sister units. The metric prefixes are a deliberate system rather than a set of older words. Each prefix marks a fixed power of ten, so "centi-" and "milli-" slot neatly beneath the base unit, and the same pattern produced "kilometre" for a thousand metres. Because the names were designed to combine freely, any learner who knows one prefix can decode the whole family of units.

Synonyms: centimeter