centenarian
noun
Did you know?
We can't say there are exactly 100 English words based on the Latin root centum, meaning "hundred," but there are certainly dozens. "Centenarian" isn't the oldest one; it only dates from the late 1700s. Far older is "centurion" (an ancient Roman military officer), which has been around since the 13th century. A younger "centum" offspring is "centisecond," a rare term for 1/100 of a second that dates from the 1950s. From colorful words such as "centicipitous" (which means "100-headed") to practical ones like "centgener" ("a device for planting 100 seeds"), "centum" descendants have enlivened our language for centuries.
Examples of centenarian in a Sentence
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 6 Mar. 2025
In a private message, the King congratulated Carter on becoming the first former president to become a centenarian.
—Rachel Burchfield, People.com, 9 Jan. 2025
At the beginning there were about 50 centenarians involved, and since then the study has enrolled about 2,500 centenarians and 600 offspring.
—Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
Today, the gap between when the average person dies and when a centenarian breaks 100 years provides a ripe area for researchers to explore interventions for aging.
—Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for centenarian
Cite this Entry
“Centenarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/centenarian. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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centenarian
noun
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