From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Centime
(from
Latin
:
centesimus
) is
French
for "
cent
", and is used in English as the name of the fraction
currency
in several
Francophone countries
(including
Switzerland
,
Algeria
,
Belgium
,
Morocco
and
France
).
In France, the usage of
centime
goes back to the introduction of the
decimal monetary system
under
Napoleon
. This system aimed at replacing non-decimal fractions of older coins. A five-centime coin was known as a
sou
, i.e. a
solidus
or
shilling
.
In
Francophone Canada
1
⁄
100
of a
Canadian dollar
is officially known as a
cent
(pronounced /s?nt/) in both English and French. However, in practice, the form of
cenne
(pronounced /s?n/) has completely replaced the official
cent
. Spoken and written use of the official form
cent
in Francophone Canada is exceptionally uncommon.
In the
Canadian French
vernacular
sou
,
sou noir
(
noir
means "black" in French),
cenne
, and
cenne noire
are all widely known, used, and accepted monikers when referring to either
1
⁄
100
of a Canadian dollar or the 1¢ coin (colloquially known as a "penny" in North American English).
Subdivision of euro: cent or centime?
[
edit
]
In the European community,
cent
is the official name for one hundredth of a
euro
. However, in French-speaking countries, the word
centime
is the preferred term. The
Superior Council of the French language
of Belgium recommended in 2001 the use of
centime
, since
cent
is also the French word for "hundred". An analogous decision was published in the
Journal officiel
in France (2 December 1997).
In Morocco,
dirhams
are divided into 100
centime
s and one may find prices in the country quoted in
centime
s rather than in dirhams. Sometimes
centime
s are known as francs or, in
former Spanish areas
,
pesetas
.
Usage
[
edit
]
A centime is one-hundredth of the following basic monetary units:
Current
[
edit
]
Obsolete
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]