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centre

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Centre, centré, and centrē

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English center, centre, from Middle French centre, from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron), from κεντεῖν (kenteîn, to prick, goad). Doublet of centrum.

Pronunciation

Noun

centre (plural centres)

  1. (Australian spelling, British spelling, Canadian spelling, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa) Alternative spelling of center.
    • (middle portion)
      1944 November and December, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 343:
      So after a short spell in the brass foundry the wisest course was to follow with a similar period in the steel foundry, where much important work was done, including the manufacture of centres for wheels.
    • 2018, Balázs Áron Kovács, Peace Infrastructures and State-Building at the Margins, Springer, →ISBN, page 280:
      The phrase 'Imperial Manila' is used throughout the archipelago to denote the capital-heavy decision-making and the imposition of the will and culture of the political and economic centre on the peripheries.
    • 2025 August 10, Don Riddell, “Now that my kids are off to college, what’s this empty nester dad to do?”, in CNN:
      As Dodd wrote in ‘The Empty Nest,’ “To me, it was glaringly obvious that parting from a child who has been the centre of your life for twenty-odd years is a really big deal. Yet while new parents are bombarded with advice, empty nest parents are left to muddle through what is arguably the most challenging phase of parenting.”

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

centre (third-person singular simple present centres, present participle centring or centreing, simple past and past participle centred)

  1. (Australian spelling, British spelling, Canadian spelling, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa) Alternative spelling of center.
    • 1962 February, “Talking of Trains: The "Midland Pullman"”, in Modern Railways, page 77:
      One controversy which has not had an airing in discussion of the new Transport Bill is that centring on the status of the Pullman Car Co.
    • 1988, Peter Hunter, “Back to School: Dealing with Dissent”, in Which Side Are You On, Boys: Canadian Life on the Left, Toronto, Ont.: Lugus Productions Ltd., →ISBN, page 96:
      A contribution to a wall newspaper of which I was an editor in our sector poked fun at the never-changing menu in the school cafeteria. It centred on the various and devious methods used in serving us hamburger. One time it would be called hamburger, another time bifshtek, then cutlet, and sneakiest of all, schnitzel—the only difference among them was usually only in their shape or whether bread crumbs had been used.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

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Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron), from κεντεῖν (kenteîn, to prick, goad).

Pronunciation

Noun

centre m (plural centres)

  1. center (point in the interior of a circle)
  2. center (middle portion of something)
  3. center (place where some function or activity occurs)
  4. center (topic that is particularly important)
  5. downtown (business center of a city)

Derived terms

Further reading

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Esperanto

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈt͡sentre/
  • Rhymes: -entre
  • Hyphenation: cen‧tre

Adverb

centre

  1. centrally

French

Etymology

From Old French centre (13th c.), a borrowing from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron, sharp point).

Pronunciation

Noun

centre m (plural centres)

  1. centre, center
  2. (soccer) cross, specifically one directed into the penalty area

Derived terms

Further reading

Anagrams

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Lithuanian

Noun

centrè

  1. locative singular of ceñtras (centre)

Noun

ceñtre

  1. vocative singular of ceñtras (centre)

Portuguese

Verb

centre

  1. inflection of centrar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Verb

centre

  1. inflection of centrar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

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