Chapter 23

Cen"sure, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Censured (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Censuring.] [Cf. F. ensurer.] 1. To form or express a judgment in regard to; to estimate; to judge. [Obs.] "Should I say more, you might well censure me a flatterer." Beau. & Fl.

2. To find fault with and condemn as wrong; to blame; to express disapprobation of.

I may be censured that nature thus gives way to loyalty. Shak.

3. To condemn or reprimand by a judicial or ecclesiastical sentence. Shak.

Syn. -- To blame; reprove; rebuke; condemn; reprehend; reprimand.

Cen"sure, v. i. To judge. [Obs.] Shak.

Cen"sur*er (?), n. One who censures. Sha.

Cen"sus (?), n. [L. census, fr. censere. See Censor.] 1. (Bot. Antiq.) A numbering of the people, and valuation of their estate, for the purpose of imposing taxes, etc.; -- usually made once in five years.

2. An official registration of the number of the people, the value of their estates, and other general statistics of a country.

&fist; A general census of the United States was first taken in 1790, and one has been taken at the end of every ten years since.

Cent (?), n. [F. cent hundred, L. centum. See Hundred.] 1. A hundred; as, ten per cent, the proportion of ten parts in a hundred.

2. A United States coin, the hundredth part of a dollar, formerly made of copper, now of copper, tin, and zinc.

3. An old game at cards, supposed to be like piquet; -- so called because 100 points won the game. Nares.

Cent"age (?), n. Rate by the hundred; percentage.

Cen"tal (?), n. [L. centum a hundred.] A weight of one hundred pounds avoirdupois; -- called in many parts of the United States a Hundredweight.

Cen"tal, n. Relating to a hundred.

Cental system, the method of buying and selling by the cental, or hundredweight.

Cen"tare` (?), n. [F. centiare; centi- (L. centum) + -are.] A measure of area, the hundredth part of an are; one square meter, or about 1⅕ square yards.

Cen"taur (s&ebreve;n"t&add;r), n. [L. centaurus, Gr. Ke`ntayros.]

1. (Class. Myth.) A fabulous being, represented as half man and half horse.

2. (Astron.) A constellation in the southern heavens between Hydra and the Southern Cross.

||Cen`tau*re"a (?), n. [NL. See Centaury.] (Bot.) A large genus of composite plants, related to the thistles and including the cornflower or bluebottle (Centaurea Cyanus) and the star thistle (C. Calcitrapa).

Cen"tau*ry (s&ebreve;n"t&add;*r&ybreve;), n. [L. centaureum and centauria, Gr. kentay`rion, kentay`reion, and kentayri`h, fr. the Centaur Chiron.] (Bot.) A gentianaceous plant not fully identified. The name is usually given to the ErytherŠa Centaurium and the Chlora perfoliata of Europe, but is also extended to the whole genus Sabbatia, and even to the unrelated Centaurea.

Cen`te*na"ri*an (?), a. Of or relating to a hundred years. -- n. A person a hundred years old.

Cen"te*na*ry (?), a. [L. centenarius, fr. centum a hundred.] 1. Relating to, or consisting of, a hundred.

2. Occurring once in every hundred years; centennial. "Centenary solemnities." Fuller.

Cen"te*na*ry, n.; pl. Centenaries (&?;). 1. The aggregate of a hundred single things; specifically, a century. "Every centenary of years." Hakewill.

2. A commemoration or celebration of an event which occurred a hundred years before.

Cen*ten"ni*al (?), a. [L. centum a hundred + annus year.] 1. Relating to, or associated with, the commemoration of an event that happened a hundred years before; as, a centennial ode.

2. Happening once in a hundred years; as, centennial jubilee; a centennial celebration.

3. Lasting or aged a hundred years.

That opened through long lines Of sacred ilex and centennial pines. Longfellow.

Cen*ten"ni*al, n. The celebration of the hundredth anniversary of any event; a centenary. [U. S.]

Cen*ten"ni*al*ly, adv. Once in a hundred years.

Cen"ter (?), n. [F. centre, fr. L. centrum, fr. round which a circle is described, fr. &?; to prick, goad.] 1. A point equally distant from the extremities of a line, figure, or body, or from all parts of the circumference of a circle; the middle point or place.

2. The middle or central portion of anything.

3. A principal or important point of concentration; the nucleus around which things are gathered or to which they tend; an object of attention, action, or force; as, a center of attaction.

4. The earth. [Obs.] Shak.

5. Those members of a legislative assembly (as in France) who support the existing government. They sit in the middle of the legislative chamber, opposite the presiding officer, between the conservatives or monarchists, who sit on the right of the speaker, and the radicals or advanced republicans who occupy the seats on his left, See Right, and Left.

6. (Arch.) A temporary structure upon which the materials of a vault or arch are supported in position until the work becomes self-supporting.

7. (Mech.) (a) One of the two conical steel pins, in a lathe, etc., upon which the work is held, and about which it revolves. (b) A conical recess, or indentation, in the end of a shaft or other work, to receive the point of a center, on which the work can turn, as in a lathe.

&fist; In a lathe the live center is in the spindle of the head stock; the dead center is on the tail stock. Planer centers are stocks carrying centers, when the object to be planed must be turned on its axis.

Center of an army, the body or troops occupying the place in the line between the wings. -- Center of a curve or surface (Geom.) (a) A point such that every line drawn through the point and terminated by the curve or surface is bisected at the point. (b) The fixed point of reference in polar co÷rdinates. See Co÷rdinates. -- Center of curvature of a curve (Geom.), the center of that circle which has at any given point of the curve closer contact with the curve than has any other circle whatever. See Circle. -- Center of a fleet, the division or column between the van and rear, or between the weather division and the lee. -- Center of gravity (Mech.), that point of a body about which all its parts can be balanced, or which being supported, the whole body will remain at rest, though acted upon by gravity. -- Center of gyration (Mech.), that point in a rotating body at which the whole mass might be concentrated (theoretically) without altering the resistance of the intertia of the body to angular acceleration or retardation. -- Center of inertia (Mech.), the center of gravity of a body or system of bodies. -- Center of motion, the point which remains at rest, while all the other parts of a body move round it. -- Center of oscillation, the point at which, if the whole matter of a suspended body were collected, the time of oscillation would be the same as it is in the actual form and state of the body. -- Center of percussion, that point in a body moving about a fixed axis at which it may strike an obstacle without communicating a shock to the axis. -- Center of pressure (Hydros.), that point in a surface pressed by a fluid, at which, if a force equal to the whole pressure and in the same line be applied in a contrary direction, it will balance or counteract the whole pressure of the fluid.

{ Cen"ter, Cen"tre } v. i. [imp. & p. p. Centered or Centred (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Centering or Centring.] 1. To be placed in a center; to be central.

2. To be collected to a point; to be concentrated; to rest on, or gather about, as a center.

Where there is no visible truth wherein to center, error is as wide as men's fancies. Dr. H. More.

Our hopes must center in ourselves alone. Dryden.

{ Cen"ter , Cen"tre } (?), v. t. 1. To place or fix in the center or on a central point. Milton.

2. To collect to a point; to concentrate.

Thy joys are centered all in me alone. Prior.

3. (Mech.) To form a recess or indentation for the reception of a center.

{ Cen"ter*bit`, Cen"tre*bit`, } n. An instrument turning on a center, for boring holes. See Bit, n., 3.

{ Cen"ter*board`, Cen"tre*board, } (?), n. (Naut.) A movable or sliding keel formed of a broad board or slab of wood or metal which may be raised into a water-tight case amidships, when in shallow water, or may be lowered to increase the area of lateral resistance and prevent leeway when the vessel is beating to windward. It is used in vessels of all sizes along the coast of the United States

Cen"ter*fire` car"tridge. See under Cartridge.

Cen"ter*ing, n. (Arch.) Same as Center, n., 6. [Written also centring.]

{ Cen"ter*piece`, Cen"tre*piece` } (?), n. An ornament to be placed in the center, as of a table, ceiling, atc.; a central article or figure.

Cen*tes"i*mal (?), a. [L. centesimus the hundredth, fr. centum a hundred: cf. F. centÚsimal.] Hundredth. -- n. A hundredth part.

The neglect of a few centesimals. Arbuthnot.

Cen*tes`i*ma"tion (?), n. [L. centesimore to take out or select every hundredth, fr. centesimus hundredth.] (Mil.) The infliction of the death penalty upon one person in every hundred, as in cases of mutiny.

Cen*tes"i*mo (s&ebreve;n"t&ebreve;s"&ibreve;*m&osl;), n.; pl. -mi (- mē). [It. & Sp.] A copper coin of Italy and Spain equivalent to a centime.

Cen"tesm (s&ebreve;n"t&ebreve;z'm), n. [L. centesima.] Hundredth.

Cen"ti*are` (?), n. [F. See Centare.] See centare.

Cen`ti*cip"i*tous (?), a. [L. centiceps, -cipitis; centum a hunder + caput head.] Hundred-headed.

Cen*tif"i*dous (?), a. [L. centifidus; centum + findere to split.] Divided into a hundred parts.

Cen`ti*fo"li*ous (?), a. [L. centifolius; centum + folium leaf.] Having a hundred leaves.

Cen"ti*grade (?), a. [L. centum a hundred + gradus degree: cf. F. centigrade.] Consisting of a hundred degrees; graduated into a hundred divisions or equal parts. Specifically: Of or pertaining to the centigrade thermometer; as, 10░ centigrade (or 10░ C.).

Centigrade thermometer, a thermometer having the zero or 0 at the point indicating the freezing state of water, and the distance between that and the point indicating the boiling state of water divided into one hundred degrees. It is called also the Celsius thermometer, from Anders Celsius, the originator of this scale.

{ Cen"ti*gram (?), Cen"ti*gramme (?), } n. [F. centigramme; centi- (L. centum) + gramme. See Gram.] The hundredth part of a gram; a weight equal to .15432 of a grain. See Gram.

{ Cen"ti*li`ter, Cen"ti*li`tre } (?), n. [F. centilitre; centi (L. centum) + litre. See Liter.] The hundredth part of a liter; a measure of volume or capacity equal to a little more than six tenths (0.6102) of a cubic inch, or one third (0.338) of a fluid ounce.

Cen*til"o*quy (?), n. [L. centum hundred + logui to speak.] A work divided into a hundred parts. [R.] Burton.

||Cen`time" (?), n. [F., fr. L. centesimus. See Centesimal.] (F. Coinage) The hundredth part of a franc; a small French copper coin and money of account.

{ Cen"ti*me`ter, Cen"ti*me`tre } (?), n. [F. centimŔtre; centi- (L. centum) + mŔtre. See Meter.] The hundredth part of a meter; a measure of length equal to rather more than thirty-nine hundredths (0.3937) of an inch. See Meter.

Cen"ti*nel (?), n. Sentinel. [Obs.] Sackville.

Cen*tin"o*dy (?), n. [L. centum a hundred + nodus knot: cf. F. centinode.] (Bot.) A weed with a stem of many joints (Illecebrum verticillatum); also, the Polygonum aviculare or knotgrass.

Cen"ti*ped (?), n. [L. centipeda; centum a hundred + pes, pedis, foot: cf. F. centipŔde.] (Zo÷l.) A species of the Myriapoda; esp. the large, flattened, venomous kinds of the order Chilopoda, found in tropical climates. they are many-jointed, and have a great number of feet. [Written also centipede (&?;).]

Cen"ti*stere (?), n. [F. centistŔre; centi- (l. centum) + stŔre.] The hundredth part of a stere, equal to .353 cubic feet.

Cent"ner (?), n. [Cf. G. centner a hundred-weight, fr. L. centenarius of a hundred, fr. centum a hundred.] 1. (Metal. & Assaying) A weight divisible first into a hundred parts, and then into smaller parts.

&fist; The metallurgists use a weight divided into a hundred equal parts, each one pound; the whole they call a centner: the pound is divided into thirty-two parts, or half ounces; the half ounce into two quarters; and each of these into two drams. But the assayers use different weights. With them a centner is one dram, to which the other parts are proportioned.

2. The commercial hundredweight in several of the continental countries, varying in different places from 100 to about 112 pounds.

Cen"to (?), n.; pl. Centos (#). [L. cento a garment of several pieces sewed together, patchwork, a poem made up of various verses of another poem.] A literary or a musical composition formed by selections from different authors disposed in a new order.

Cen"to*nism (?), n. The composition of a cento; the act or practice of composing a cento or centos.

Cen"tral (?), a. [L. centralis, fr. centrum: cf. F. central. See Center.] Relating to the center; situated in or near the center or middle; containing the center; of or pertaining to the parts near the center; equidistant or equally accessible from certain points.

Central force (Math.), a force acting upon a body towards or away from a fixed or movable center. -- Center sun (Astron.), a name given to a hypothetical body about which Mńdler supposed the solar system together with all the stars in the Milky Way, to be revolving. A point near Alcyone in the Pleiades was supposed to possess characteristics of the position of such a body.

{ Cen"tral (?), ||Cen*tra"le (?), } n. [NL. centrale, fr. L. centralis.] (Anat.) The central, or one of the central, bones of the carpus or or tarsus. In the tarsus of man it is represented by the navicular.

Cen"tral*ism (?), n. 1. The state or condition of being central; the combination of several parts into one whole; centralization.

2. The system by which power is centralized, as in a government.

Cen*tral"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Centralities (&?;). The state of being central; tendency towards a center.

Meantime there is a great centrality, a centripetence equal to the centrifugence. R. W. Emerson.

Cen`tral*i*za"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. centralisation.] The act or process of centralizing, or the state of being centralized; the act or process of combining or reducing several parts into a whole; as, the centralization of power in the general government; the centralization of commerce in a city.

Cen"tral*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Centralized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Centralizing.] [Cf. F. centraliser.] To draw or bring to a center point; to gather into or about a center; to bring into one system, or under one control.

[To] centralize the power of government. Bancroft.

Cen"tral*ly, adv. In a central manner or situation.

Cen"tre (?), n. & v. See Center.

{ Cen"tric (?), Cen"tric*al (?), } a. Placed in the center or middle; central.

At York or some other centrical place. Sir W. Scott.

-- Cen"tric*al*ly, adv. -- Cen"tric*al*ness, n.

Cen*tric"i*ty (?), n. The state or quality of being centric; centricalness.

Cen*trif"u*gal (?), a. [L. centrum center + fugere to flee.] 1. Tending, or causing, to recede from the center.

2. (Bot.) (a) Expanding first at the summit, and later at the base, as a flower cluster. (b) Having the radicle turned toward the sides of the fruit, as some embryos.

Centrifugal force (Mech.), a force whose direction is from a center.

&fist; When a body moves in a circle with uniform velocity, a force must act on the body to keep it in the circle without change of velocity. The direction of this force is towards the center of the circle. If this force is applied by means of a string to the body, the string will be in a state of tension. To a person holding the other end of the string, this tension will appear to be directed toward the body as if the body had a tendency to move away from the center of the circle which it is describing. Hence this latter force is often called centrifugal force. The force which really acts on the body being directed towards the center of the circle is called centripetal force, and in some popular treatises the centripetal and centrifugal forces are described as opposing and balancing each other. But they are merely the different aspects of the same stress. Clerk Maxwell.

Centrifugal impression (Physiol.), an impression (motor) sent from a nerve center outwards to a muscle or muscles by which motion is produced. -- Centrifugal machine, A machine for expelling water or other fluids from moist substances, or for separating liquids of different densities by centrifugal action; a whirling table. -- Centrifugal pump, a machine in which water or other fluid is lifted and discharged through a pipe by the energy imparted by a wheel or blades revolving in a fixed case. Some of the largest and most powerful pumps are of this kind.

Cen*trif"u*gal, n. A centrifugal machine.

Cen*trif"u*gence (?), n. The property or quality of being centrifugal. R. W. Emerson.

Cen"tring (?), n. See Centring.

Cen*trip"e*tal (?), a. [L. centrum center + petere to move toward.] 1. Tending, or causing, to approach the center.

2. (Bot.) (a) Expanding first at the base of the inflorescence, and proceeding in order towards the summit. (b) Having the radicle turned toward the axis of the fruit, as some embryos.

3. Progressing by changes from the exterior of a thing toward its center; as, the centripetal calcification of a bone. R. Owen.

Centripetal force (Mech.), a force whose direction is towards a center, as in case of a planet revolving round the sun, the center of the system, See Centrifugal force, under Centrifugal. -- Centripetal impression (Physiol.), an impression (sensory) transmitted by an afferent nerve from the exterior of the body inwards, to the central organ.

Cen*trip"e*tence (?), n. Centripetency.

Cen*trip"e*ten*cy (?), n. Tendency toward the center.

Cen*tris"coid (?), a. [NL. Centriscus (r. Gr. &?; a kind of fish) + -oid.] (Zo÷l.) Allied to, or resembling, the genus Centriscus, of which the bellows fish is an example.

Cen`tro*bar"ic (?), a. [Gr. (&?;) &?; a treatise of Archimedes on finding the center of gravity, fr. &?; gravitating toward the center; &?; center + &?; weight.] Relating to the center of gravity, or to the process of finding it.

Centrobaric method (Math.), a process invented for the purpose of measuring the area or the volume generated by the rotation of a line or surface about a fixed axis, depending upon the principle that every figure formed by the revolution of a line or surface about such an axis has for measure the product of the line or surface by the length of the path of its center of gravity; -- sometimes called theorem of Pappus, also, incorrectly, Guldinus's properties. See Barycentric calculus, under Calculus.

Cen"trode (?), n. (Kinematics) In two figures having relative motion, one of the two curves which are the loci of the instantaneous center.

Cen"troid (?), n. [L. centrum + -oid.] The center of mass, inertia, or gravity of a body or system of bodies.

Cen`tro*lec"i*thal (?), a. [Gr. &?; center + &?; yolk of an egg.] (Biol.) Having the food yolk placed at the center of the ovum, segmentation being either regular or unequal. Balfour.

Cen`tro*lin"e*ad (?), n. An instrument for drawing lines through a point, or lines converging to a center.

Cen`tro*lin"e*al (?), a. [L. centrum + linea line.] Converging to a center; -- applied to lines drawn so as to meet in a point or center.

Cen"tro*some` (?), n. [Gr. &?; center + -&?; the body.] (Biol.) A peculiar rounded body lying near the nucleus of a cell. It is regarded as the dynamic element by means of which the machinery of cell division is organized.

Cen`tro*stal"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?; center + &?; checking.] (Physiol.) A term applied to the action of nerve force in the spinal center. Marshall Hall.

||Cen"trum (?), n.; pl. E. Centrums (#), L. Centra (#). [L., center.] (Anat.) The body, or axis, of a vertebra. See Vertebra.

Cen"try (?), n. See Sentry. [Obs.] Gray.

||Cen*tum"vir (?), n.; pl. Centumviri (#). [L., fr. centum hundred + Vir man.] (Rom. Hist.) One of a court of about one hundred judges chosen to try civil suits. Under the empire the court was increased to 180, and met usually in four sections.

Cen*tum"vi*ral (?), a. [L. centumvitalis.] Of or pertaining to the centumviri, or to a centumvir.

Cen*tum"vi*rate (?), n. [Cf. F. centumvirat.] The office of a centumvir, or of the centumviri.

Cen"tu*ple (?), a. [L. centuplex; centum + plicare to fold; cf. F. centuple.] Hundredfold.

Cen"tu*ple, v. t. To increase a hundredfold.

Cen*tu"pli*cate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Centuplicated; p. pr. & vb. n. Centuplicating.] [L. centuplicare. See Centuple, a.] To make a hundredfold; to repeat a hundred times. [R.] Howell.

Cen*tu"ri*al (?), a. [L. See Century.] Of or pertaining to a century; as, a centurial sermon. [R.]

Cen*tu"ri*ate (?), a. [L. centuriatus, p. p. of centuriare to divide (men) into centuries.] Pertaining to, or divided into, centuries or hundreds. [R.] Holland.

Cen*tu"ri*ate (?), v. t. [See century.] To divide into hundreds. [Obs.]

{ Cen*tu"ri*a`tor (?), Cen"tu*rist (?), } n. [Cf. F. centuriateur.] An historian who distinguishes time by centuries, esp. one of those who wrote the "Magdeburg Centuries." See under Century. [R.]

Cen*tu"ri*on (?), n. [L. centurio, fr. centuria; cf. F. centurion. See Century.] (Rom. Hist.) A military officer who commanded a minor division of the Roman army; a captain of a century.

A centurion of the hand called the Italian band. Acts x. 1.

Cen"tu*ry (?), n.; pl. Centuries (#). [L. centuria (in senses 1 & 3), fr. centum a hundred: cf. F. centurie. See Cent.] 1. A hundred; as, a century of sonnets; an aggregate of a hundred things. [Archaic.]

And on it said a century of prayers. Shak.

2. A period of a hundred years; as, this event took place over two centuries ago.

&fist; Century, in the reckoning of time, although often used in a general way of any series of hundred consecutive years (as, a century of temperance work), usually signifies a division of the Christian era, consisting of a period of one hundred years ending with the hundredth year from which it is named; as, the first century (a. d. 1-100 inclusive); the seventh century (a.d. 601- 700); the eighteenth century (a.d. 1701- 1800). With words or phrases connecting it with some other system of chronology it is used of similar division of those eras; as, the first century of Rome (A.U.C. 1-100).

3. (Rom. Antiq.) (a) A division of the Roman people formed according to their property, for the purpose of voting for civil officers. (b) One of sixty companies into which a legion of the army was divided. It was Commanded by a centurion.

Century plant (Bot.), the Agave Americana, formerly supposed to flower but once in a century; -- hence the name. See Agave. -- The Magdeburg Centuries, an ecclesiastical history of the first thirteen centuries, arranged in thirteen volumes, compiled in the 16th century by Protestant scholars at Magdeburg.

Ce*pev"o*rous (?), a. [L. cepa an onion + varare to devour.] Feeding upon onions. [R.] Sterling.

Ceph"a*lad (?), adv. [Gr. kefalh` head + L. ad toward.] (Zo÷l.) Forwards; towards the head or anterior extremity of the body; opposed to caudad.

{ ||Ceph`a*lal"gi*a (?), Ceph"a*lal`gy (?), } n. [L. cephalalgia, Gr. &?;; &?; + &?; pain: cf. F. cÚphalalgie.] (Med.) Pain in the head; headache.

Ceph`a*lal"gic (?), a. [L. cephalalgicus, Gr. &?;.] (Med.) Relating to, or affected with, headache. -- n. A remedy for the headache.

||Ceph`a*lan"thi*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; + &?; flower.] (Bot.) Same as Anthodium.

||Ceph`a*las"pis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. kefalh` head + &?; a shield.] (Paleon.) A genus of fossil ganoid fishes found in the old red sandstone or Devonian formation. The head is large, and protected by a broad shield-shaped helmet prolonged behind into two lateral points.