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centre

Etymology and origin of the French word centre

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1275, Jean de Meun, Roman de la Rose
Borrowed from
Latin centrum
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (κεντέω)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek κέντρον
Latin centrum
French centre
Latin centralis
English central

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɑ̃tʁ/[1]
  • IPA (France): [sɒ̃tʁ̞][1]
  • IPA (France): [sɒ̃tχ][1]

Forms

centre m (plural centres)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin centrum (“point of a pair of compasses; centre of a circle”), borrowed from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron, “goad, sting; centre of a circle”).[2][3][4][5][6][1] The Greek word comes from κεντέω (kentéō, “to goad, prick”); the geometrical sense came from the point of the compasses stuck into the spot around which the circle is drawn.[2][3][7] Rey compares only scattered forms such as Old High German hantag (“pointed”), and notes that Welsh cethr (“nail”) and Irish cinteir are taken from the Latin word.[3] The sports sense is a calque of English centre-half, recorded in a French text in 1916.[2]

Cognate with Occitan centre, Spanish centro and Italian centro.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean de Meun's Roman de la Rose (about 1275) uses it figuratively for the point inside a circle or sphere at an equal distance from all points of its circumference or surface.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century it also meant, more loosely, the middle of any space (centre du monde), while geometry gave it its strict sense in 1529 (Geoffroy Tory).[2][3] The army had its centre from 1690 (Furetière), and politics from the 1820s, by the seating of assemblies: centre droit (1821), centre gauche (1822), whence centriste and centrisme.[2][3]

From the 17th century it is a place where things gather or from which they spread (1638, Rotrou, Paris le centre du bon goût, 1659, Molière), and, from 1839–42 a town or conurbation.[2] Physics has centre de gravité (1680) and anatomy centre nerveux (1845).[3][2] In football it is a player in the middle of the line (1924, Montherlant), after English.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1275 – Jean de Meun, Roman de la Rose.[2]
  • 14th century – Centre du monde; the middle of any space.[2]
  • 1529 – The geometrical sense, Geoffroy Tory.[2]
  • 1659 – Paris le centre du bon goût, Molière.[2]
  • 1690 – The centre of an army, Furetière.[2][8]
  • 1821–1822 – Centre droit, centre gauche.[2]
  • 1845 – Centre nerveux.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The centre of a circle or sphere; the central point of a figure.[9][1]
  2. The middle part of a space: le centre de la France; the town centre: habiter (dans) le centre.[9]
  3. A place where activities are concentrated: centre commercial, centre culturel, centre d'appels.[9][1]
  4. The main point; the focus: être au centre de l'attention, centre d'intérêt.[9][8]
  5. (politics) The parties between left and right: centre droit, centre gauche.[3][9]
  6. (physics, anatomy) Centre de gravité, centres nerveux.[2][9]
  7. (football) A centre player; a cross into the penalty area.[2][1]

Word family

  • central
  • centrer
  • concentrer
  • décentrer
  • concentrique
  • excentrique
  • centrisme
  • centriste
  • centre-ville
  • égocentrisme
  • centrafricain
  • centrage
  • centraliser
  • centrifuge
  • centripète
  • Latin centrum

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 586a
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Centre.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/centre. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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