Cent

Cent and Centime (Lat. centum, 'a hundred'), names of coins. The Dutch cent is a copper coin, the 100th part of the guilder (1s. 8d.); the United States cent is a bronze coin, the 100th part of the dollar, or nearly one halfpenny English, and the Canadian cent has the same value. The centime, the 100th part of the French franc, and of the value of $\backslash frac\{1\}\{100\}$th of an English penny, has been adopted in Belgium, and, under other names, in Greece, Italy, and Switzerland; and the Spanish real ($2\backslash frac\{1\}\{2\}$d.) also is divided into 100 centimes. The cental in the United States, legalised in 1878, is 100 lb. avoirdupois (cf. CENTNER). See DECIMAL SYSTEM.