Hūn'dred1, n.
n. [A-S. hund, hundred, hundred, century, O. Sax. hunderod, O. Fries. hundered, Icel. hundradh, Dan. hundrede, Sw. hundra, hundrade, O. H. Ger. hunt, huntari, hundert, N. H. Ger. hundert, D. honderd, Goth. hund, allied to Lat. centum, Gr. ἑκατόν, Skr. catám, Per. szad, Ir. cead.]
Sense 1. The product of ten multiplied by ten, or the number of ten times ten; a collection, body, or sum, consisting of ten times ten individuals or units; five score;—written 100, or C.
☞ The word hundred, as well as thousand, million, &c., often takes a plural form, but can never do so when modified by an ordinal numeral adjective. We can say hundreds, or many hundreds, but never five hundreds, or eight hundreds. “With many hundreds treading on his heels.” Shak.
Sense 2. A division or part of a county in England, supposed to have originally contained a hundred families, or freemen.
☞ Formerly colloquially pronounced hun'dred.
Hundred-weight, a denomination of weight, usually denoted by cwt., containing 112 pounds avoirdupois, according to the legal standard in England and the United States. But often in practice, and sometimes by law, it is 100 pounds avoirdupois, and the corresponding tun of 2000 pounds is called the short tun.