Century

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsɛnt͡ʃʊɹi/

Definitions

1. A period of one hundred consecutive years
2. A time span consisting of one hundred years in total
3. A duration that encompasses one hundred years of historical significance

Etymology: The Roman army is where "century" begins. A centuria was a division of the Roman legion, and the name reflected its nominal strength of about one hundred men, led by a centurion. The Latin word came from centum, meaning "one hundred," so the word was tied to a count of soldiers long before it meant a span of time. The Roman sense did not stay confined to the military. Latin centuria also named divisions of land and groups of voters, and English borrowed the idea of a count of one hundred of anything through Old French centurie. The leap from a group of a hundred to a hundred years was a simple one: "a century of years" became the usual phrase, and the shortened form eventually stood on its own.

Synonyms: hundred years, centenary, 100 years