noun / adjective
centenary
sen-TEN-uh-ree/senˈtenəri/
Marking or spanning one hundred years.
Two women unveil a banner marking the library's centenary.
Etymology
The pieces express a relation to a hundred, without themselves specifying years. The noun first meant a period of a hundred years, then the anniversary marking its completion.
In context
the Battle of Arras centenary commemorations events will continue to be supported until we mark a century since the end of the first world war
More examples
- A concert opens the centenary celebrations.
- The town prepares for the school's centenary.
- The archive publishes a centenary history of the institution.
Forms
centenary · centenaries
Similar words
- centennial
- The more common American term for a hundredth anniversary.
- anniversary
- Marks any yearly recurrence, not specifically the hundredth.