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center

Etymology and origin of the English word center

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1380 (Chaucer)
Borrowed from
Old French centre via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (κεντέω)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsen.tə/, US /ˈsen.t̬ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English centre, borrowed from Old French centre,[2][3][4] a learned borrowing from Latin centrum,[2][3] originally the fixed point of a drafting compass,[3] from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron, “sharp point, goad; stationary point of a compass; centre of a circle”),[2][3][5] from κεντέω (kentéō, “to prick, goad”).[3][5][4] Etymonline traces it to Proto-Indo-European *kent- (“to prick”).[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The middle point of a circle, the point round which something revolves: about 1380, in Chaucer's Boethius,[2] or the late 14th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

The middle of anything is from the 1590s,[3] and figuratively a point of concentration, as of power, from the 1680s.[3] Centre of gravity is from the 1650s.[3] In politics, representatives of moderate views between left and right are the centre from 1837, first of France.[3] Centre of attention is from 1868.[3] The verb meant “to concentrate at a centre” from the 1590s[3] or 1590,[6] and “to rest as at a centre” from the 1620s.[3] To be centered on is from 1713, and -centered in compounds by 1958.[3] The sports sense, “to hit toward the centre”, is from 1890.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – the centre of a circle (Chaucer).[2]
  • 1590s – the middle of anything; verb, to concentrate.[3]
  • 1650s – centre of gravity.[3]
  • 1680s – a point of concentration.[3]
  • 1713 – centered on.[3]
  • 1837 – the political centre.[3]
  • 1868 – centre of attention.[3]
  • 1890 – verb, in sport.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A point or place equally distant from the sides or boundaries; the middle.
  2. (geometry) A point equally distant from all points of a circle or sphere.
  3. A point round which something turns.
  4. A place where an activity is concentrated: a shopping center.
  5. A person or thing that is the focus of attention.
  6. (politics) Moderate parties or views.
  7. (sports) A player in the middle position.

Verb

  1. To place in or at the center.
  2. To direct toward a center; to focus.
  3. To be concentrated; to have as a main theme.

Word family

  • centerless
  • centerable

Usage notes

Etymonline notes that the spelling centre was popularized in Britain by Johnson's dictionary, following Bailey's, though center is older and was used by Shakespeare, Milton and Pope.[3] The American Heritage Dictionary notes that center around has been condemned as illogical, though writers persist in using it, while center on, upon, in and at are freely accepted;[7] it also compares center with focus, headquarters, heart, hub and seat.[7]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Center.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/center. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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