noun
century
SEN-chuh-ree/ˈsentʃəri/
A span of one hundred years.
The timeline spans a full century from 1900 to 2000.
Etymology
A centuria was a group of one hundred things, not specifically years. English narrowed the general counting word through the expression “century of years,” leaving century to mean a hundred-year period.
In context
One of the most important events of the 4th century was the reign of Constantine the Great, who ruled the Roman Empire from 306 to 337.
More examples
- The bridge has stood for more than a century.
- She completes her first cycling century before sunset.
- The batter scores a century in the cricket match.
Forms
century · centuries
Similar words
- decade
- A period of ten years rather than one hundred.
- millennium
- A period of one thousand years rather than one hundred.