Central

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈsɛntɹəl/

Definitions

1. Located in or forming the middle point or most important part of something
2. Being at the midpoint or focal area of a structure or concept often indicates its significance or essential role in a larger framework
3. Situated at the heart or nucleus of a place, thing, or idea often serving as the primary source or core

Etymology: The word "central" is a plain borrowing from Latin "centrālis," which means "of the centre," and it is built on "centrum," the Latin for "centre." That Latin noun came from Ancient Greek "kéntron," a word meaning a sharp point or a goad, the sort used to prick oxen. The sense of a pointed tool and the sense of a middle point are not obviously linked, but the Greek word was applied to the fixed point a compass or a circle turns on, and from there it came to mean the middle of anything. English took "central" directly from Latin rather than through French, and it is formed on the same pattern as many other borrowed adjectives: the "-al" ending was added to the Latin base, giving a word that simply means of or pertaining to the middle. Its root sense is therefore almost purely spatial, and the abstract uses, such as a central idea or a central character, grew out of that basic picture of a point at the heart of something.

Synonyms: middle, main, core, focal, primary

Antonyms: peripheral, marginal, outer, secondary, ancillary