Etymologically
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central

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 14:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsen.trəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French central or directly borrowed from Latin centrālis (“pertaining to a centre”),[2][3][4] from centrum (“centre”),[2][5] the source of centre.[6][7] Barnhart and Etymonline note that an adverb centraly is recorded before 1425, which might imply an earlier use of the adjective.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pertaining to or being a centre: 1647,[3][5][8] first used by the Cambridge Platonist Henry More.[7]

Semantic evolution

The slightly older word was centric, from the 1580s.[2] A city district in the heart of a town is central from 1675,[8] and a controlling governing body from 1809.[8] In politics, a party between the extremes is from 1860.[8] The American colloquial noun central, a telephone exchange, is from 1889, hence “Hello, Central?”.[2] Central America is from 1826 and central processing unit from 1961.[2]

Timeline

  • before 1425 – adverb centraly.[3]
  • 1647 – adjective (Henry More).[3][8]
  • 1675 – of a city district.[8]
  • 1809 – of a governing body.[8]
  • 1826 – Central America.[2]
  • 1889 – noun, a telephone exchange.[2]
  • 1961 – central processing unit.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Situated at or near the centre.
  2. Of basic importance; essential or principal.
  3. Having dominant power; controlling all parts of a system.
  4. Easily reached from various points.

Noun

  1. (US, dated) A telephone exchange or its operator.
  2. An office that controls and coordinates related activities.

Word family

  • centrally
  • center
  • centre
  • centric
  • centralize
  • eccentric
  • concentrate

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 f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press