Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Cen'te-na-ry, n. p. 211The aggregate of a hundred single things; specifically, a century; a hundred years. “A centenary of years.” Hakewill. We pray no longer for our daily bread. But next centenary’s harvests. E. B.…Cĕn′te-na-ry, a. p. 211Relating to a hundred; consisting of a hundred. Worc. 2. [Perhaps for centennary, from Lat. centum, a hundred, and annus, a year.] Occurring once in every hundred years. Centenary solemnities, which…Cen-tĕn'ni-al, a. p. 211Belonging to the hundredth anniversary; as, a centennial day. (Mason.) 2. Happening once in a hundred years; as, a centennial jubilee.Cen'ter or Cen'tre, n. p. 211A point equally distant from the extremities of a line, figure, or body; the middle point or place of any thing. 2. The middle or central portion of any thing; the midst. 3. A point of concentration…Cĕn′ter or Cĕn′tre, v. i. p. 211To be placed in a center; to be central. 2. To be collected to a point; to be concentrated. Our hopes must center on ourselves alone. Dryden.Cĕn’ter or Cĕn’tre, v. t. p. 211To place on a center; to fix on a central point. Milton. 2. To collect to a point; to concentrate. Thy joys are centered all in me alone. Prior.Cen'ter-bit or Cen'tre-bit, n. p. 211An instrument turning on a center, for boring circular holes.Cēnʹter-ing, n. p. 211(Arch.) The temporary woodwork of framing on which any vaulted work is constructed. [Written also centring.] Gwilt.Cen-tĕs'ĭ-mal, a. p. 211Hundredth; by the hundred; as, the centesimal part of a grain.Cen-tē'si-mal, n. p. 211A hundredth part. “The neglect of a few centesimals.” Arbuthnot.Cen-tēs'/i-mā'/tion, n. p. 211(Mil.) A military punishment for desertion, mutiny, or the like, where one person in a hundred is selected to receive the penalty.Cen'te-sĭm, n. p. 211The hundredth part of a thing. [Obs.] Hutton.Cen'ti-cĭp'i-tōus, a. p. 211Having a hundred heads.Cen-tĭf'i-dous, a. p. 211Divided into a hundred parts.Cen-ti-fō'li-ous, a. p. 211Having a hundred leaves. Bailey.Cĕn′ti-grāde, a. p. 211Consisting of a hundred degrees; graduated into a hundred divisions or equal parts. Centigrade thermometer, a thermometer having the zero or 0 at the freezing point, and the distance between that and…Cen'ti-grămme, n. p. 211A measure of weight, being the hundredth part of a gramme, equal to .15433 of a grain troy and .16924 of a grain avoirdupois. See GRAMME.Cen-tīl'i-ter or Cēn’ti-lī’ter, n. p. 211A measure of capacity or volume, being the hundredth part of a litre, or a little more than six tenths of a cubic inch.Cen-til'o-quy, n. p. 211A hundred fold discourse. [Rare.] Burton.Cen'time', n. p. 211(Fr. Coinage.) The hundredth part of a franc.Cen-tim'e-ter or Cĕn'ti-mē'ter or Centim'ētre, n. p. 211A measure of length, being the hundredth part of a meter, or rather more than thirty nine one hundredths of an inch English measure.Cĕn’ti-nel, n. p. 211See SENTINEL.Cen-tin'/o-dy, n. p. 211(Bot.) A kind of grass of the genus Illecebrum, a purslain-like plant.Cĕn’ti-ped, n. p. 211(Zoöl.) A species of the land articulates of the order Myriapoda. They are many-jointed, wingless, somewhat vermiform, and have a great number of feet. [Written also centipede (-peed).] Dana.Cént'ner, n. p. 211(Metal. & Assaying.) A weight divisible first into a hundred parts, and then into smaller parts. ☞ The metallurgists use a weight divided into a hundred equal parts, each one pound; the whole they…Cēn’to, n. p. 211A composition formed by verses or passages from different authors disposed in a new order. 2. (Mus.) An opera or other musical composition designedly compounded of selections connected by appropriate…Cen'to-nism, n. p. 211The act of making a composition by selection from various authors; compilation.Cen'tral, a. p. 211Relating to the center; placed in the center or middle; containing the center, or pertaining to the parts near the center. Central forces (Mech.), the two antagonist forces (the centripetal and…Cĕn′tral-ism, n. p. 211The state or quality of being central; the combination of several parts in one whole.Cen-trāl'i-ty, n. p. 211The state of being central. More.Cĕn′tral-i-zā′tion, n. p. 211Act of centralizing; the act or process of combining or reducing several parts to a whole; as, the centralization of power in the general government; the centralization of commerce in a city.Cĕn’tral-ize, v. t. p. 211To draw to a central point; to bring to a center; to make central. “ [To] centralize the power of government.” Bancroft.Cen'tral-ly, adv. p. 211In a central manner; with regard to the center.Cen-trā'tion, n. p. 211Tendency to the center. [Obs.] More.Cĕn’tre, n. p. 211See CENTER.Cen'tric or Cen'tric-al, a. p. 211Placed in the center or middle; central. Donne.Cen'tric-al-ly, adv. p. 211In a central position.Cen'tric-al-ness, n. p. 211Situation in the center.Cen-tric'i-ty, n. p. 211The state of being centric.Cen-trif'u-gal, a. p. 211Tending to recede from the center. 2. (Bot.) (a.) Expanding first at the summit, and later at the base, as a flower. Lindley. (b.) Having the radicle turned toward the sides of the fruit, as some…Centrifugal force p. 211that force by which a body, moving in a curve tends to fly off from the axis of motion, in a tangent to the periphery of the curve.Cĕn’tring, n. p. 211See CENTERING.Cen-trĭp'e-tal, a. p. 211Tending toward the center. 2. (Bot.) (a.) Expanding first at the base of the inflorescence, and later at the summit, as a flower. Lindley. (b.) Having the radicle turned toward the axis of the fruit…Cen-trip'e-ten-cy, n. p. 211Tendency toward the center.Cen'tro-bā'rie, a. p. 211Relating to the center of gravity, or to the process of finding it. Centrobariæ method (Math.), a process invented for the purpose of measuring the area or the volume generated by the rotation of a…Cĕn′tro-līn′e-ad, n. p. 211An instrument for drawing lines through a point, or converging to a center.Cen'tro-lin'e-al, a. p. 211Converging to a center;—applied to lines drawn so as to meet in a point or center.Cĕn’try, n. p. 211See SENTRY.Cen-tūm'vir, n. p. 211(Rom. Antiq.) A judge appointed by the pretor to decide common causes among the people;—so called because, although the original number was one hundred and five, it was commonly spoken of as one…Cen-tūm'vi-ral, a. p. 211Pertaining to the centumviri, or to a centumvir.Cen-tūm'/vi-rate, n. p. 211The office of a centumvir, or of the centumviri.Cĕnʹtu-ple, a. p. 211Hundred-fold. Mussinger.Cĕn’tu-ple, v. t. p. 211To increase a hundred-fold.Cen-tū'pli-āte, v. t. p. 211To make a hundred-fold. [Rare.]Cen-tū'ri-al, a. p. 211Relating to a century, or a hundred years; as, a centurial sermon. [Rare.] When the third centurial jubilee of New England shall come, who of us will then be living to participate the general joy? J.…Cen-tū'ri-āte, v. t. p. 211To divide into hundreds. [Obs.]Cen-tū'ri-ā'tor or Cent'ū-rist, n. p. 211An historian who distinguishes time by centuries. [Rare.] Ayliffe. Sheldon. The centuriatores of Magdeburg were the first that discovered this grand imposture. Ayliffe.Cen-tū'ri-on, n. p. 211(Rom. Antiq.) A military officer who commanded a century, or company of infantry comprising a hundred men, answering to the captain in modern armies.Cēnt'ū-ry, n. p. 211The aggregate of a hundred individual persons or things; a hundred; as, a century of sonnets. “A century send forth.” Shak. 2. A period of a hundred years. This is the most common signification of…Cē'pī, n. p. 212(Bot.) A plant (Allium cepa); the common onion.