Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cent” come from?

Cent comes from Old French cent, from Latin centum, from Proto-Indo-European ḱm̥tóm, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European déḱm̥ meaning ten.

cent (English): A subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of...

Definitions

  1. A subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of...

Ancestry of “cent”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcent—
2Old Frenchcentone hundred
3Latincentuma hundred; 100
4Latinfoliuma leaf; a petal; a sheet or leaf of paper
5Proto-Italic*foljom—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰolh₃yomleaf
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰleh₃-bloom, flower
8Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰel-to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰōl-—

Words derived from “cent”

  • centage
  • Eurocent
  • cents
  • bitcent
  • cent
  • eurocent
  • 仙
  • 仙
  • 仙界
  • cent
  • eurocent
  • cent
  • cent
  • cent
  • 센트
  • סנט
  • seant
  • senti
  • sen
  • sene
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰōl- →