英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

centenarian (n.)[centenarian 词源字典]: 1805, "person 100 years old," from centenary + -ian. As an adjective, "pertaining to a person 100 years old," recorded from 1806.[centenarian etymology, centenarian origin, 英语词源]
centenary (adj.): c. 1600, "period of 100 years," from Latin centenarius "of a hundred, relating to a hundred," from centenai "a hundred each," from centum "hundred" (see hundred). As a noun, "100th anniversary," from 1788.
centennial (adj.): 1789, from Latin centum "one hundred" (see hundred) + ending from biennial. As a noun, "hundredth anniversary celebration," from 1876; the older noun is centenary.
center (n.): late 14c., "middle point of a circle; point round which something revolves," from Old French centre (14c.), from Latin centrum "center," originally fixed point of the two points of a drafting compass, from Greek kentron "sharp point, goad, sting of a wasp," from kentein "stitch," from PIE root *kent- "to prick" (cognates: Breton kentr "a spur," Welsh cethr "nail," Old High German hantag "sharp, pointed").

Figuratively from 1680s. Meaning "the middle of anything" attested from 1590s. Spelling with -re popularized in Britain by Johnson's dictionary (following Bailey's), though -er is older and was used by Shakespeare, Milton, and Pope. Center of gravity is recorded from 1650s. Center of attention is from 1868.
center (v.): 1590s, "to concentrate at a center," from center (n.). Related: Centered; centering. Meaning "to rest as at a center" is from 1620s. Sports sense of "to hit toward the center" is from 1890. To be centered on is from 1713. In combinations, -centered is attested by 1958.
centerfield (n.): also center field, 1857 in baseball, from center (n.) + field (n.). Related: Center-fielder.
centerfold (n.): also center-fold, "fold-out center spread of a magazine or newspaper," 1950, from center (n.) + fold (n.2). "Playboy" debuted December 1953, and the word came to be used especially for illustrations of comely women, hence "woman who poses as a centerfold model" (by 1965).
centerpiece (n.): also center-piece, 1800, from center + piece (n.). Figurative sense is recorded from 1937.
centi-: word-forming element meaning "one hundred" or "one hundredth part," used in English from c. 1800, from the French metric system, from Latin centi-, comb. form of centum "one hundred" (see hundred).
centigrade (adj.): 1799, from French; see centi- "hundred" + Latin gradus "degree" (see grade (n.)).
centigram (n.): also centigramme, 1801, from French centigramme; see centi- + gram.
centiliter (n.): also centilitre, 1801, from French centilitre; see centi- + liter.
centillion (n.): 1846, from centi- + ending from million, etc. Compare French centillion (by 1841). Related: Centillionth.
centime (n.): 1801, from French centime, from cent (see centi-) on analogy of décime (pars).
centimeter (n.): also centimetre, 1801, from French centimètre (18c.), coined from Latin centum "hundred" (see hundred) + French mètre (see meter (n.2)).
centipede (n.): 1640s, from French centipède, from Latin centipeda "many-footed insect," from centum "hundred" (see hundred) + pedis, genitive of pes "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)).
central (adj.): 1640s, from French central or directly from Latin centralis "pertaining to a center," from centrum (see center (n.)). Centrally is attested perhaps as early as early 15c., which might imply a usage of central earlier than the attested date.

Slightly older is centric (1580s). As a U.S. colloquial noun for "central telephone exchange," first recorded 1889 (hence, "Hello, Central?"). Central processing unit attested from 1961. Central America is attested from 1826.
centrality (n.): 1640s; see central (adj.) + -ity.
centralization (n.): 1801, especially of administrative power, originally with reference to Napoleonic France and on model of French centralisation. See centralize + -ation.
centralize (v.): 1795, "to bring to a center;" 1800, "come to a center," from central + -ize, on model of French centraliser (1790). A word from the French Revolution. Related: Centralized; centralizing.
Government should have a central point throughout its whole periphery. The state of the monthly expences amounted to four hundred millions; but within these seven months, it is reduced to one hundred and eighty millions. Such is the effect of the centralization of government; and the more we centralize it, the more we shall find our expenses decrease. [Saint-Just, "Discourse on the State of the Finances"]