centime

[ sahn-teem; French sahn-teem ]

noun

, plural cen·times [sahn, -, teemz, sah, n, -, teem].

1. a monetary unit of various nations and territories, as Lichtenstein, Martinique, Senegal, Switzerland, and Tahiti, one 100th of a franc.
2. a monetary unit of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg until the euro was adopted, one 100th of a franc.
3. a money of account of Haiti, one 100th of a gourde.
4. an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Algeria, one 100th of a dinar.
5. an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Morocco, one 100th of a dirham.

centime

/ sɑ̃tim; ˈsɒnˌtiːm /

noun

1. a monetary unit of Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, French Polynesia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mali, Mayotte, Morocco, New Caledonia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Switzerland, and Togo. It is worth one hundredth of their respective standard units
2. a former monetary unit of Andorra, Belgium, France, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Luxembourg, Martinique, Monaco, and Réunion, worth one hundredth of a franc

Word History and Origins

Origin of centime¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French; Old French centiesme, from Latin centēsimum, accusative of centēsimus “hundredth”; cent

Word History and Origins

Origin of centime¹

C18: from French, from Old French centiesme from Latin centēsimus hundredth, from centum hundred

Example Sentences

Writing about the task at the time, she said she had to "put every single centime aside to pay" the book's printer.

From BBC

“Even three centimes higher is dire when played out nationwide,” Anract said.

From Seattle Times

We each had an aguardiente and paid forty centimes for the two drinks.

From Literature

A designated brother calls out anyone who has broken the rules – for example not lifting their hat at the correct moment – and the miscreant is fined 50 centimes.

From The Guardian

The economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, pledged workers would “not lose a centime” due to temporary lay offs during the crisis.

From The Guardian