centum
/ˈkɛntəm/
"centum" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“centum” is uncommon English (frequency #96,845 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #96,845
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Referring to an Indo-European language that did not produce sibilants from a series of Proto-Indo-European palatovelar stops.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | centum |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkɛntəm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #96,845 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “centum” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
centum is uncommon English at frequency #96,845 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈkɛntəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Referring to an Indo-European language that did not produce sibilants from a series of Proto-Indo-European palatovelar stops.".
centum has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin centum (“hundred”), attested at least since 1890s. Its use in linguistics is due to it being a canonical example of a word retaining an original velar stop, as opposed to Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬙𐬆𐬨 (satəm). Doublet of hundred and satem. The correct English form is centum, spelled C-E-N-T-U-M.
Definition
- 1Referring to an Indo-European language that did not produce sibilants from a series of Proto-Indo-European palatovelar stops.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin centum (“hundred”), attested at least since 1890s. Its use in linguistics is due to it being a canonical example of a word retaining an original velar stop, as opposed to Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬙𐬆𐬨 (satəm). Doublet of hundred and satem.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "centum"?
What does "centum" mean?
How do you pronounce "centum"?
What is the origin of the word "centum"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “centum”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-E-N-T-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɛntəm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.