Etymologically
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centralis

Etymology and origin of the Latin word centralis

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Pliny the Elder
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (κέντρον)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin centrum
Latin centralis
English central

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɛnˈtraː.lɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [t͡ʃenˈtraː.lis][1]

Forms

centrālis (neuter centrāle, adverb centrāliter); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin centrum (“centre”) + -ālis.[2][3][4] centrum is borrowed from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron, “sharp point; centre of a circle”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, calls the earth central.[3][5] Köbler dates him 23/24–79 AD.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant placed at the centre, and was rare in Classical Latin.[2][3] Martianus Capella uses the neuter centrāle as a noun for the centre of a circle.[3]

Medieval writers used it of what lies in the middle, as the central sign in Albertus Magnus, and British writers also of what is internal.[7][8] English central is recorded in the 1640s.[4]

Timeline

  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder calls the earth central.[3][6]
  • 1640s – English central is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Situated at the centre, central.[2][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Internal.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b 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

Borrowed into

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Centralis.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/centralis. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·