centner
/ˈsɛntnəɹ/ noun
Forms centners
- noun A unit of weight with different actual definitions in parts of Germany and Scandinavia, typically 100 local pounds.
- noun A nonstandard metric unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms, commonly used as an agricultural measure in Eastern Bloc countries (similar to a bushel).
Synonyms
hundredweight metric hundredweight doppelzentner cwt short hundredweight cental quintal
Etymology
Probably from Low German, cp. German Zentner, comparable to the hundredweight. Doublet of centenary, kantar, and quintal.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A weight divisible first into a hundred parts, and then into smaller parts.
- noun The commercial hundredweight in several of the continental countries, varying in different places from 100 to about 112 pounds.
Etymology [Cf. G. centner a hundred-weight, fr. L. centenarius of a hundred, fr. centum a hundred.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “centner”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details