Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

centum

/ˈkɛntəm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.98 in modern English

Syllables: cen-tum
IPA: /ˈkɛntəm/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Referring to an Indo-European language that did not produce sibilants from a series of Proto-Indo-European palatovelar stops.

noun

Satakam, set of one hundred verses connected by the same metre or topic.

noun

Perfect score on a board examination.

Indian usage

adj

Alternative letter-case form of centum.

Example Sentences

"Table 10.1 shows the relative chronology of centum and satem entries to the west. Along each trajectory, centum languages precede satem languages, and the frontier languages, thos most clearly showing peripheral type shift, are centum."
"Tonda-mandala-sātacam, a centum of verses on the Conjeveram country, No. 148, C. M. 73. The sātacam is a poem of one hundred stanzas, in its appropriate metre."
"Norman Cutler's Songs of Experience: The Poetics of Tamil Devotion (1987) provides a partial translation, choosing to translate just 50 hymns from the first two centums and a few phalasrutis, or the signature stanzas."
"Achyuta Satakam is a centum in Prakrit Language; Devanayaka Panchasat (the fifty on Devanayaka), in sanskrit and several poetical works in Tamil."
"Though he secured a centum in mathematics, he failed to secure pass marks in other subjects."
"Ramesh scored a centum in mathematics."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin centum (“hundred”), attested at least since 1890s. Its use in linguistics is due to it being a canonical example of a word retaining an original velar stop, as opposed to Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬙𐬆𐬨 (satəm). Doublet of hundred and satem.

Usage

Indian usage

Inflected Forms

centums (plural)

Derived Forms

centumization

Phrases

per centum

Frequently Paired Words

per centum

Antonyms

satem

Rhymes With

momentum argumentum cementum omentum tegmentum mentum tomentum ramentum sarmentum submentum lomentum prementum

Questions

How do you pronounce centum?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɛntəm/.
What does centum mean?: Referring to an Indo-European language that did not produce sibilants from a series of Proto-Indo-European palatovelar stops.
Where does centum come from?: Learned borrowing from Latin centum (“hundred”), attested at least since 1890s. Its use in linguistics is due to it being a canonical example of a word retaining an original velar stop, as opposed to Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬙𐬆𐬨 (satəm). Doublet of hundred and satem.

How to pronounce centum

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “centum”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɛntəm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “centum”.
Repeat and practice — Say “centum” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.