What does centigrade mean?
'Centigrade' describes the temperature scale — known today as Celsius — on which the difference between the freezing point and the boiling point of water at standard atmospheric pressure is divided into exactly one hundred degrees. Water freezes at 0 degrees centigrade and boils at 100, making the scale intuitive for everyday purposes such as weather reports, cooking, and medicine. The word comes from the Latin 'centum' (hundred) and 'gradus' (step), so it literally means 'a hundred steps.' Although international scientific bodies renamed the scale 'Celsius' in 1948, partly to avoid ambiguity with an old French unit of angular measurement, 'centigrade' survives widely in ordinary speech, especially in Britain. It most often appears in the phrase 'degrees centigrade,' as in 'the temperature fell to five below zero degrees centigrade,' and it contrasts with the Fahrenheit scale still common in the United States, where the same range spans 180 rather than 100 divisions.
Of or denoting a temperature scale in which water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees under standard atmospheric pressure; equivalent to Celsius.
"Set the oven's proofing mode to around thirty-five degrees centigrade."
In modern scientific usage, 'Celsius' is preferred over 'centigrade', which is now largely informal or traditional.
A degree on the centigrade (Celsius) scale; also used collectively to mean the scale itself.
"Temperatures dropped several centigrade overnight."
As a noun, 'centigrade' usually appears after a number and 'degrees' ('ten degrees centigrade'); standalone noun use is comparatively rare.
Rarely pluralized; 'centigrade' typically stays singular even with numbers greater than one, as in 'forty degrees centigrade'. A plural form exists but is uncommon.
"The reading fluctuated by only a few centigrades during the experiment."
'Centigrade' literally means 'a hundred steps' — from Latin centum (hundred) and gradus (step) — because the scale takes exactly one hundred steps from ice-cold water to boiling water.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of centigrade
The word 'centigrade' derives from French 'centigrade', formed from Latin 'centum' meaning 'hundred' and 'gradus' meaning 'step' or 'degree', reflecting the scale's division of the water's freezing-to-boiling range into one hundred parts. It entered English in the early 19th century as thermometry became standardized. Its cognates include other Latinate words built on 'centum' such as 'century', 'percent', and 'centimeter', and on 'gradus' such as 'grade', 'gradient', and 'gradual'. In 1948 the Ninth General Conference on Weights and Measures officially replaced the term with 'Celsius', after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius who devised an earlier version of the scale.
How centigrade is actually used
The name 'centigrade' was officially replaced by 'Celsius' in 1948 by international agreement (to avoid confusion with the French unit 'centigrade', an angular measure), though 'centigrade' remains common in everyday British English. In formal scientific writing, 'Celsius' is preferred. The word functions primarily as an adjective ('a centigrade thermometer') but appears as a noun when used with 'degrees' ('thirty degrees centigrade'). It is neutral in register.
Easily confused with centigrade
Celsius and centigrade refer to the same scale; 'Celsius' is the modern official name adopted in 1948 to honor Anders Celsius, while 'centigrade' is the older name still widely understood but less common in technical use.
Fahrenheit is a different temperature scale using smaller degrees and different fixed points (water freezing at 32°F and boiling at 212°F), whereas centigrade divides that range into 100 degrees between 0° and 100°.