Spanish word: cent
English word : cent
Etymology : The word derives from the Latin word for 100, centum.
Related words: Words derived from centum are used in both languages. Among them are "century," "centipede," "centenarian" and "percent" in English, and ciento, centenar, centenario and centena in Spanish. In both languages, centi- is used as a prefix in metric measurements to indicate a hundredth: "centimeter," centímetro.
References : American Heritage Dictionary, Diccionario de la Lengua Española, European Commission, Dictionary.com.
Comment : The cent is the one-hundredth fractional unit of the currency of both the United States, whose currency is the dollar, and of Spain, whose currency is the euro. Ironically, Spanish-speakers use a Spanish word, centavo, when referring to the U.S. cent (and the cents of other English-speaking countries), while a recently imported word, the foreign-sounding cent (plural cents, an exception to the usual pluralization rules) is officially used in referring to the Spanish unit.
Important: Note, however, that while a hundredth of a euro is known as a cent in official documents, in everyday life you're more likely to hear and see the term céntimo. It rolls off the Spanish-speaking tongue more easily than the official word.
The usage of cent to refer to the fractional unit of the euro stems from a decision of the European Commission to make as uniform as possible the names of its currency throughout the multinational economic area. Thus the word cent is used as the official name for the fractional currency in French, German (where Cent is capitalized as are other nouns), Portuguese, Italian and Dutch — as foreign as the word may have sounded originally. (In all those languages, the plural form is either cent or cents, Cent in German.) Variations are used only in some of the less common languages of Europe (such as centii in Finnish).
Outside of Spain, such as in Mexico, the fractional unit of local currency is typically known as the centavo. Exceptions include Uruguay and Panama, where it is known as the centésimo, the word for "hundredth."
Important: Note, however, that while a hundredth of a euro is known as a cent in official documents, in everyday life you're more likely to hear and see the term céntimo. It rolls off the Spanish-speaking tongue more easily than the official word.
The usage of cent to refer to the fractional unit of the euro stems from a decision of the European Commission to make as uniform as possible the names of its currency throughout the multinational economic area. Thus the word cent is used as the official name for the fractional currency in French, German (where Cent is capitalized as are other nouns), Portuguese, Italian and Dutch — as foreign as the word may have sounded originally. (In all those languages, the plural form is either cent or cents, Cent in German.) Variations are used only in some of the less common languages of Europe (such as centii in Finnish).
Outside of Spain, such as in Mexico, the fractional unit of local currency is typically known as the centavo. Exceptions include Uruguay and Panama, where it is known as the centésimo, the word for "hundredth."
