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
Andre Mouchard, Daily News, 9 May 2026
Sir David Attenborough is almost a centenarian.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 5 May 2026
Given the number of centenarians is expected to quadruple by 2054, Coughlin and his collaborators developed a comprehensive way to plan for aging.
—Allison Aubrey, NPR, 4 May 2026
At 105 years old, Roselle resident Nancy Lally is part of a group of centenarians whose names are on the Irish census of 1926, which the National Archives of Ireland digitized and publicly unveiled earlier this month after a century spent sealed by law.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for centenarian
Cite this Entry
“Centenarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/centenarian. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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centenarian
noun
