The spelling of the word "century" can be confusing due to the silent "t" in the middle. The correct pronunciation is /ˈsɛn.tʃə.ri/, with the emphasis on the first syllable. The "c" is pronounced as an "s" sound, while the "u" is pronounced as a short "e" sound. The "t" in the middle is silent, so it should be pronounced as if it is not there. Knowing the IPA phonetic transcription can help you spell and pronounce words correctly.
A century refers to a period of one hundred years in the Gregorian calendar or any other system of counting years. The term derives from the Latin word "centuria," meaning “a group of one hundred.” It is a fundamental unit of time used to measure history, chronology, and the passing of time.
In historical contexts, a century is often regarded as a significant landmark - a span of time that distinguishes one era from another. This concept facilitates the organization and understanding of the progression of events, civilizations, and cultural developments. For example, the 18th century encompasses the years from 1701 to 1800. It represents the time period between the 17th and 19th centuries and allows historians and society to classify and analyze the events, trends, and transformations during that time frame.
In everyday language, the term "century" can be employed more loosely to refer to a lengthy duration or an extended span of time. It can also describe a hundredth anniversary of a specific event or the celebration of 100 years since a significant occurrence. On a more technical note, the word "century" can also be used to designate a unit of scoring in certain sports, such as cricket, where a century denotes when a batsman successfully scores 100 runs in a single inning.
A period of a hundred years.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "century" comes from the Latin word "centuria", which originally referred to a division of 100 soldiers in the Roman army. It is derived from the Latin word "centum", meaning "one hundred". Over time, the term "centuria" came to be used in a general sense to denote a period of 100 years. The English word "century" was adopted from Old French around the 14th century.