Etymologically
Log in

centena

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word centena

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation, Semantic loan
First attested
317 AD, Theodosian Code
Ultimate origin
Latin centēnus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin centum
French cent
Italian cento
Latin centenus
Latin centena
French centaine
From the same root
Latin centesimus ← centum
Latin centiens ← centum
Latin centumvir ← centum
Latin nongenti ← centum
Latin septingenti ← centum
Italian percento ← cento
Latin centenarius ← centenus

Forms

centēna f (genitive centēnae); first declension[1][2] Medieval spellings include centina and centana.[3][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin centēnus (“a hundred each; of a hundred”), its feminine used as a noun.[4][1][5] For the medieval senses Niermeyer explains it as centum (“hundred”) used to render the Germanic word huntari (“crowd”), the name of a body of men and its district.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first use is in a law of 317 in the Theodosian Code, which names it beside the ranks of perfectissimus, ducēna and ēgregius as a dignity that certain men may not be admitted to.[4][1] There it is the rank of a centēnārius.[4][1][6]

Semantic evolution

In the Theodosian Code it was a grade in the imperial service, and Du Cange describes it as the rank in the corps of agentēs in rēbus next below its chief.[4][6] The law of the Visigoths uses it for a company of a hundred soldiers, whose centēnārius must not desert it.[4][3]

Among the Franks it named a body of men responsible for public order and the district it covered:[3][4] a decree of King Chlotar, as the TLL quotes it, orders that centēnae be formed, and that whoever has lost something in a centēna should have it restored there.[4][6] Du Cange concluded from this that the centēnae were first set up against thieves.[6] Later the word meant the district under the court of a hundred, a subdivision of the county like the vicāria, and the office and jurisdiction of the centēnārius;[3][2] in Lorraine it named a local jurisdiction of public origin, and on royal estates a unit of administration.[3][6] Charters place villages in such districts: Du Cange quotes the chronicle of Fontenelle for a villa in centēnā Alanciōnēnsī.[6]

It was also a weight of a hundred pounds, a hundredweight,[2][7][6] and a hundred of a commodity: a charter of 1278 from Pomerania speaks of a hundred of timber and of grain.[8]

Timeline

  • 317 AD – A law in the Theodosian Code names the rank of centēna.[4][1]
  • 596 – A Frankish capitulary uses it, according to Köbler.[2]
  • 1090 – A diploma of a bishop of Metz grants rights of bannum and centēna.[6]
  • 1278 – A Pomeranian charter uses it for a hundred of timber and of grain.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) The rank of centēnārius in the imperial service.[4][1][6]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A company of a hundred soldiers; an army division.[4][3][2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A body of men charged with keeping public order, and the district in which it acted.[3][4]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A hundred, a district under the jurisdiction of a hundred court, a subdivision of the county.[3][6][2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) The office and jurisdiction of a centēnārius; a local jurisdiction.[3][6]
  6. (Medieval Latin) An administrative unit on royal estates.[3]
  7. (Medieval Latin) A hundredweight, a weight of a hundred pounds; a hundred (of a commodity).[2][7][6][8]
  8. (Medieval Latin) A group of labourers.[3]

Usage notes

The TLL and the DMLBS treat it as a use of the adjective centēnus, and the Theodosian Code also has it as an adjective in centēna dignitās.[4][9] The derivative centēnārius names the man who held the rank or led the centēna.[4][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  7. ^ a b Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
  8. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press

Descendants

Cite this entry

“Centena.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/centena. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·