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Cent

''Look up'' [[cent]] or ''Cent'' in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. {{About|the various uses of the term|the blockchain platform|Cent (blockchain platform)|the currency unit|Cent (currency)}} Cent is a term with multiple meanings, including a unit of currency, a measurement, and various locations. For detailed information, see the relevant sections below.

Currency

Definition and etymology

The cent is a monetary unit equal to one hundredth (1/100) of the basic unit of account in many national currencies, such as the United States dollar, the euro, or the Canadian dollar.^[1] It serves as a fundamental subunit in decimal-based currency systems, facilitating precise transactions for small values. In practice, the cent is often represented by physical coins, such as the U.S. one-cent piece known as the penny.^[1] The term "cent" derives from the Latin word centum, meaning "hundred," which entered English in the late 14th century via Old French cent, initially denoting the number 100.^[2] By the early 17th century, its meaning had evolved in English to signify a "hundredth part," reflecting its role as a fractional unit.^[2] This linguistic shift aligned with the adoption of decimal currency systems in modern economies. The cent was first formally established as a currency unit through the U.S. Coinage Act of 1792, which created a decimal-based system for American coinage and defined the cent as "the one hundredth part of a dollar," to be minted from copper.^[1] This act marked a pivotal step in standardizing the cent within a national monetary framework, influencing its widespread use globally. The official symbol for the cent is ¢, a stylized lowercase "c" with a vertical line, encoded in Unicode as U+00A2.

Usage in national currencies

The cent serves as the primary subunit in numerous national currencies, typically representing one-hundredth of the main unit and used for low-value transactions. In the United States, the cent, commonly known as the penny, is the subunit of the U.S. dollar, with 100 cents equaling one dollar; production of these copper-plated zinc coins ceased on November 12, 2025, following a directive to end minting due to rising production costs exceeding the coin's face value, though existing pennies remain legal tender.^[3]^[4] In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. Mint produced approximately 3.2 billion cents, accounting for 57% of its total circulating coin output of 5.61 billion coins, primarily at facilities in Philadelphia and Denver.^[5] The euro, used by 20 European Union countries, includes cent denominations from 1 to 50 cents, with the 1-cent coin being the smallest, made of copper-covered steel and featuring designs symbolizing European unity on the common side and national motifs on the reverse; these coins facilitate seamless transactions across the eurozone for over 350 million people.^[6] Similarly, the Australian dollar divides into 100 cents, with circulating coins of 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents produced by the Royal Australian Mint under the Reserve Bank of Australia, supporting everyday small purchases since the decimal currency introduction in 1966.^[7] In South Africa, the rand's subunits include 10, 20, and 50 cent coins, while production of 1- and 2-cent coins ceased in 2002 and of 5-cent coins in 2012 due to low usage, yet all remain legal tender; these bronze-plated coins depict national flora like the protea.^[8] In Canada, the cent (informally the penny) was the subunit of the Canadian dollar until production ended in 2012, with distribution to banks ceasing in February 2013 amid inflation eroding its practical value—costing 1.6 Canadian cents to produce each penny—though it retains indefinite legal tender status for transactions.^[9]^[10] Naming variations reflect regional influences: in the United States and historically in the United Kingdom, the cent is called a "penny," with the UK's post-1971 one-pence coin equating to one-hundredth of a pound, evolving from the pre-decimal penny that was one-two-hundred-fortieth of the pound.^[11] In Latin American currencies like the Mexican peso and Argentine peso, the equivalent subunit is the "centavo," with 100 centavos per peso, used in coins for minor denominations despite occasional low circulation due to rounding practices in some economies.^[12] Economically, cents enable precise pricing for low-value goods and services, but persistent inflation and high production costs—such as the U.S. cent's shift in 1982 from 95% copper to 97.5% zinc with a thin copper plating to address rising metal prices—have prompted phase-outs in countries like Canada, where cash transactions now round to the nearest five cents, reducing reliance on the subunit without affecting its legal validity.^[4]^[13] This role underscores the cent's adaptation to modern economies, balancing convenience with cost efficiency across global systems.

Measurement

Area unit

The cent is a traditional unit of land area measurement, defined as one-hundredth of an acre, equivalent to approximately 435.6 square feet or 40.47 square meters.^[14] This unit facilitates the subdivision of larger agricultural or residential plots into smaller, manageable portions.^[15] In terms of conversions, 100 cents comprise one acre, making it a straightforward fractional system for property assessment. It relates to other regional units, such as the ground, which equals about 5.51 cents or 2,400 square feet, commonly used alongside the cent for mid-sized plots in southern regions.^[16] The cent is predominantly employed in real estate transactions across several Indian states, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, where it appears in property deeds, surveys, and market listings for both rural farmland and urban developments.^[17] Originating from British colonial land measurement practices introduced in the 19th century to standardize revenue collection, the cent persists in everyday usage and media reports, even after India's official adoption of the metric system in 1956.^[18]

Musical interval

In music theory, the cent is a logarithmic unit used to measure intervals between pitches, defined as one hundredth of a semitone in the twelve-tone equal temperament system, with a full octave comprising exactly 1200 cents.^[19] This subdivision allows for precise quantification of small pitch differences that are imperceptible in coarser units like semitones.^[20] The mathematical foundation of the cent derives from the logarithmic nature of perceived pitch, calculated using the formula:

n = 1200 \times \log_2 \left( \frac{f_2}{f_1} \right)

where n is the interval in cents, f_1 and f_2 are the frequencies of the two pitches, and \log_2 is the base-2 logarithm of their ratio.^[21] This scaling ensures that an octave (frequency ratio of 2:1) equals 1200 cents, as $1200 \times \log_2(2) = 1200, providing a consistent measure across the audible spectrum.^[19] Cents are widely applied in analyzing and comparing tuning systems, such as equal temperament and just intonation. In twelve-tone equal temperament, a perfect fifth spans exactly 700 cents (seven semitones), whereas in just intonation, based on the 3:2 frequency ratio, it measures approximately 701.96 cents, highlighting the slight detuning in equal systems for chromatic compatibility.^[22] This precision aids in tuning adjustments and interval comparisons.^[23] The cent was introduced in 1875 by Alexander John Ellis in his English translation and appendix to Hermann von Helmholtz's On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music, where Ellis proposed it as a universal scale for non-Western and comparative musicology, building on Helmholtz's logarithmic pitch concepts.^[24] Today, cents underpin digital applications, including synthesizer detuning for chorusing effects and pitch correction software like Melodyne, which quantizes vocals to within a few cents of target notes.^[25]^[26]

Informal subdivisions

In informal contexts, particularly in historical English usage, "cent" has served as a colloquial shorthand for one-hundredth (1/100) of various measurement units, avoiding the need for explicit decimal notation.^[27] This usage appeared across everyday descriptions, such as "two cents of rain" denoting 0.02 inches of precipitation, a phrasing rooted in 18th- and 19th-century American records.^[28] A prominent example occurs in length measurements, where expressions like "12 cents of an inch" equated to 0.12 inches and were commonplace in 19th-century American English for describing small distances in trade, crafting, or observations.^[27] Such informal fractions extended occasionally to other domains, including rare applications for volume or weight in pre-metric systems, though these were less documented and primarily anecdotal. The prevalence of "cent" as a measurement suffix waned with the widespread adoption of the metric system in the late 19th and 20th centuries, which standardized decimal divisions like the centimeter—one-hundredth of a meter—rendering ad hoc usages obsolete in formal and scientific settings.^[27] Today, it survives mainly in dialects, regional idioms, or archival texts as a non-official relic, emphasizing conceptual simplicity over precision.^[27]

Locations

Modern places

Cents is a quarter of Luxembourg City located in the eastern part of the capital, serving as a primarily residential district with modern housing developments and green spaces. Its position near the German border, approximately 33 kilometers from Wasserbillig, facilitates easy access for cross-border commuters and contributes to its multicultural community. As of 2024, Cents has a population of 6,517 residents, reflecting steady growth from 5,374 in the 2011 census. The area occupies an elevated plateau with an average elevation of about 315 meters (1,033 feet), providing scenic overlooks of the Alzette Valley and integrating seamlessly into Luxembourg City's urban fabric through efficient public transport links, including tram and bus services.^[29]^[30] Cents remained largely rural until the 1960s, when post-war housing initiatives transformed it into a suburban extension of the city, with administrative integration dating back to 19th-century municipal expansions that incorporated surrounding villages. Today, it features amenities like schools, parks, and the Cents Kéibierg viewpoint, emphasizing its role in the city's balanced urban-residential landscape.^[31]^[32]

Historical references

The term "Cent" in Old English referred to the region and Kingdom of Kent in southeastern England, originating from the earlier Celtic name Cantium or Cantio, which likely denoted a "coastal district" or "corner-land" due to its geographical position on the edge of the British Isles.^[33] This Brythonic root traces back to the Iron Age tribe of the Cantii, who inhabited the area during the late Roman period, when the region was known as Cantium within the Roman province of Britannia, encompassing much of what is now Kent and parts of Surrey.^[34] The name evolved into "Cent" in Anglo-Saxon usage by the 5th century, reflecting the Germanic settlers' adaptation of the local nomenclature as they established control following the Roman withdrawal around 410 AD.^[35] The Kingdom of Cent, or Cantware Kingdom, emerged in the mid-5th century as one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon polities, primarily settled by Jutes from Jutland and incorporating remnants of Romano-British society.^[34] It played a pivotal role in the Heptarchy, the traditional grouping of seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that dominated early medieval England until the 9th century. A landmark event was the conversion to Christianity in 597 AD, when King Æthelberht of Kent was baptized by Augustine of Canterbury, who led a mission dispatched by Pope Gregory the Great; this marked the beginning of organized Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons and established Canterbury as a major ecclesiastical center.^[36] The kingdom persisted until its final subjugation by Wessex in 825 (early 9th century), after which it retained some autonomy as a sub-kingdom until the Norman Conquest.^[37] Archaeological evidence, including burial sites like those at Sarre and Finglesham, supports the Jutish cultural influences in Cent, with artifacts showing a blend of pagan Germanic and emerging Christian elements from the 6th century onward.^[34] Textual records in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle frequently reference Cent, documenting key events such as Æthelberht's reign (c. 589–616) and later invasions, like the Mercian conquest in 776 AD, providing a chronological framework for its political history. These sources, compiled in the 9th century at the court of Alfred the Great, highlight Cent's strategic importance as a gateway for trade and migration across the English Channel.^[38] Over time, the name "Cent" transitioned into the modern "Kent," designating the contemporary county that preserves the historical boundaries of the ancient kingdom, with an area of approximately 3,736 km² and a population of about 1.8 million as of 2021.^[39] This linguistic and territorial continuity underscores the enduring legacy of the original "Cent" in regional identity.

References

[1]
CENT & Magic: Crafting the Future of Digital Ownership and Creator ...
Feb 5, 2024 · CENT's Transformation: Evolved from a blockchain-based social network to an influential NFT platform, innovating with features like The ...Missing: project | Show results with:project
[2]
Cent, the platform that Jack Dorsey used to sell his first tweet as an ...
Aug 5, 2021 · Cent was founded in 2017 as an ad-free creator network that allows users to offer each other crypto rewards for good posts and comments ...
[3]
Jack Dorsey sells his first tweet ever as an NFT for over $2.9 million
Mar 22, 2021 · Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, sold the first tweet he ever posted as an NFT, or nonfungible token, for over $2.9 million.
[4]
NFT Buyers Bid Thousands for Elon Musk's Tweets on a New Crypto ...
May 7, 2021 · The CEO and co-founder of Cent, whose Valuables platform sold Jack Dorsey's first tweet as an NFT, talks about Musk's fan base in the crypto ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[5]
Marketplace suspends most NFT sales, citing 'rampant' fakes and ...
Feb 12, 2022 · The U.S.-based Cent executed one of the first known million-dollar NFT sales when it sold the former Twitter CEO's tweet as an NFT , opens new ...
[6]
NFT Marketplace CEO on Counterfeits: 'This Is an Ecosystem-Wide ...
Feb 22, 2022 · It was a stunning move by Hejazi, the CEO and co-founder of the NFT marketplace Cent. The previous March, the U.S.-based company had garnered ...
[7]
CENT Digital Collectibles & NFTs
CENT is perfect for people without cryptocurrency as it requires a credit card and makes you a new wallet. It also uses traditional email lists. · So easy to use ...CENT App · Who We Are · For Creators · For Brands
[8]
https://www.resbank.co.za/en/home/what-we-do/banknotes-and-coin/Coins
[9]
Cent - Etymology, Origin & Meaning
Originating from late 14c. Latin centum "hundred," the word's meaning shifted in the 17c. to "hundredth part," becoming a U.S. currency unit in 1786.
[10]
https://www.budget.canada.ca/2012/themes/theme2-eng.pdf
[11]
https://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/coin-design-and-specifications/one-penny-coin/
[12]
https://www.britannica.com/money/peso
[13]
Coins - European Central Bank
The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins show Europe in relation to Africa and Asia on a globe. You can use any euro coin anywhere in the euro area.€2 commemorative coins · €1 · National sides · 50 cent
[14]
A New Currency | Reserve Bank of Australia - Museum
the minor currency unit (subsequently named the cent) would be one hundredth of the major unit, equal to 1 . 2d. in the existing currency system.
[15]
Coins - South African Reserve Bank
There are six denominations of South African coin in circulation: 10c, 20c, 50c, R1, R2 and R5. The minting of the 1c, 2c and 5c having been discontinued.
[16]
Government of Canada and the Royal Canadian Mint Bid Farewell ...
Dec 14, 2016 · As of today the Mint will cease distributing pennies to financial institutions, and the supply of pennies in circulation will begin to decline.
[17]
[PDF] ELIMINATING THE PENNY - budget.canada.ca
and services, the Royal Canadian Mint will no longer distribute pennies as of Fall 2012. • The penny will retain its value indefinitely and can continue to be.
[18]
1p Coin | The Royal Mint
The United Kingdom 1p coin was one of three new coins introduced into general circulation on 15th February 1971, when the United Kingdom adopted a new decimal ...Missing: cent | Show results with:cent
[19]
Peso | Currency, History & Countries | Britannica Money
Peso, the monetary unit of several Latin American countries and the Philippines; it is divided into 100 centavos.
[20]
https://www.teoria.com/en/articles/2020/cents/index.php
[21]
Cent to Square Meter Converter - MagicBricks
Cent is referred to as 1/100th part of an acre, i.e. 100 Cents make up one acre. Further, one cent is equivalent to 435.6 square feet (sq ft).
[22]
Convert Cent to Square Feet | Cent to Sq Ft Conversion - Bajaj Finserv
1 cent is equivalent to 435.56 square feet, and both are traditional land measurement units used to determine property size.Missing: Southeast Asia
[23]
Convert Ground to Cent Online - MagicBricks
1 ground equals 5.511609 cents. Ground is roughly 2400 square feet, and cent is 1/100th of an acre, or 435.6 sq ft.Missing: anekadam | Show results with:anekadam
[24]
Cent to Square Feet calculator - 99acres.com
1 Cent is equal to 435.56 Square Feet and is used in the south Indian states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.Missing: Asia | Show results with:Asia
[25]
Cent to Ground converter in Tamil Nadu
Historical Background in Tamil Nadu ... The Cent unit was popularized during the British colonial period and became a standard for subdividing acres—since 100 ...
[26]
cent - a unit of musical interval measurement, 1/1200 octave
A measure of musical interval width invented by A. J. Ellis. There are 100Â¢ to the 12-tone equal temperament semitone and 1200 cents to the octave. Cents are ...
[27]
What are cents in music? - Introduction - Teoria
The English mathematician and philologist Alexander John Ellis (1814-1890) proposed the use of cents for measuring musical intervals.Missing: definition 1875
[28]
Frequency calculation for different octave intervals - Sengpielaudio
One octave equals 1200 cents. Cents are calculated using the formula: ¢ = 1200 × log2(f2/f1), where f2/f1 is the frequency ratio.
[29]
Equal temperament | Definition & Facts | Britannica
In equal temperament, the perfect fifth, such as C–G, is narrower than the natural, or Pythagorean, fifth by 2 cents, a nearly imperceptible amount. These ...
[30]
Just Temperament and Others - HyperPhysics
However, if five cents is taken as the just noticeable difference in pitch, the fifths and fourths of equal temperament are just within that 5¢ margin.
[31]
Alexander Ellis's Translation of Helmholtz's Sensations of Tone | Isis
For dialectology and ethnomusicology Ellis provided viable tools. The cent scale he introduced for measuring musical intervals has become a standard in ...
[32]
Pitch-Correcting Vocals With Melodyne - Sound On Sound
Pitch correction of vocal parts is now commonplace in all but a few genres. Find out how to craft a professional-sounding result.
[33]
Theory behind adjusting the "Cents" on your synth? - Gearspace
Jun 5, 2014 · It's a way of adding texture and phazing to the oscillators..100 cents = 1 semitone so usually 4 a supersaw, detune each oscillator by x cents.Melodyne 5 "pitch-corrected" notes still sound sharp/flat - GearspaceHow many cents can i pitch shift a really deep synth until it starts ...More results from gearspace.com
[34]
Units: C - Ibiblio
The Latin number 100, centum, is also used in English works for this quantity. cent [2]: an informal name for 1/100 of almost any unit, for example, a ...
[35]
Thomas Jefferson: Analysis of Weather Memorandum Book, January ...
53 cents of an inch for each rain, or .93 cents for a week, on an average, being nearly an inch a week.22 were this to fall regularly, or nearly so, thro ...
[36]
Cents - Ville de Luxembourg - City Population
Cents (Zens). 6,449 Population [2023] – Estimate ; Luxembourg (Lëtzebuerg) ...
[37]
Les quartiers de la Ville de Luxembourg - Statistics Portal
Apr 6, 2023 · Between 2001 and 2011, the district of Cents has experienced the highest demographic growth (+72.2%), while Pfaffenthal (-8.7%) and Clausen (- ...
[38]
Cents topographic map, elevation, terrain
Average elevation: 1033 ft • Cents, Luxembourg, Canton Luxembourg, Luxembourg • Visualization and sharing of free topographic maps.
[39]
Tawioun and Cents | Ville de Luxembourg
... Cents" stop, and Rue de Neudorf, line 9, "Fixmer" stop; Length: 2.4 km with 13 stations; Elevation: 60 m; A stretching area with a warm-up station is located ...
[40]
Cents Luxembourg, a residential district in Luxembourg - Justarrived.lu
History of the Cents district in Luxembourg. Rural at the turn of the century, the neighborhood expanded in the 1960s with the development of low-cost housing ...
[41]
Cents: a panoramic plateau steeped in history in Luxembourg City
Cents was a rural area until the 1960s, named from a tax. The Fetschenhaff farm was a military site, and the Carmelite Convent was built in 1937. Urban ...Missing: administrative | Show results with:administrative
[42]
Kent - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Inherited from Middle English Kent, from Old English Cent, from Latin Cantium, from Brythonic *Cantio (compare Old Irish céite (“gathering, folkmoot, hillock”) ...
[43]
Kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons - Kent - The History Files
Initially conquered from about AD 455, this was the very earliest of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, made up of a mixture of Germanic Jutes and Angles together with ...
[44]
Every Kent town and exactly how they all got their names
Feb 26, 2020 · The name Kent itself is believed to be of British Celtic origin and the county was known in Old English at different times as Cent, Cent Lond and Centrice.
[45]
Bede - University of Oregon
... KINGDOM OF KENT, IN ORDER TO PREACH THEREIN. [A.D. 597.] AUGUSTINE, thus strengthened by the confirmation of the blessed Father Gregory, returned to the ...
[46]
Kings of Kent - Historic UK
Jan 11, 2025 · The Kingdom of the Kentish, known today as the Kingdom of Kent, was one of the great seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England.<|control11|><|separator|>
[47]
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle – Early English Literature
This year Esc succeeded to the kingdom; and was king of the men of Kent twenty-four winters. A.D. 490. This year Ella and Cissa besieged the city of Andred ...
[48]
IRP advice to the Minister of State for Health on Kent and Medway ...
Nov 4, 2021 · The combined population of Kent and Medway is approximately 1.8 million people dispersed across a wide geographical area of 1,368 square miles.Missing: km | Show results with:km