centum Hear it!

centum definition

cen·tum (ken′təm, -to̵om)

adjective

designating or of the group of Indo-European languages, including Germanic, Italic, Hellenic, Celtic, Anatolian, and Tocharian, in which a complicated but systematic development of the Indo-European palatals and labiovelars sets these languages apart from those of the satem group

Etymology: L, hundred: so named because the initial velar stop of L centum illustrates the typical development in this group from the IE palatal stop (i.e., IE → centum k, satem s̸h)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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