# centum

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈkɛntəm/ · frequency rank #96,845

## Definitions
1. Referring 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.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/centum