What does cento mean?
A cento is a literary work — most often a poem — constructed by assembling lines or passages borrowed from other authors so that they form a new, coherent whole. The term comes from the Latin word for a patchwork garment, an image that captures the technique precisely: like fabric scraps stitched into a quilt, quoted fragments are joined to produce something distinct from its sources. Centos have been written since classical antiquity and remain a recognized form among contemporary poets, who use them as tribute, parody, commentary, or craft exercise. Because every line has a prior author, a cento's artistry lies less in invention than in selection and arrangement — choosing fragments whose juxtaposition creates fresh meaning. The word is formal and relatively rare outside literary contexts, but within poetry it names a well-established and admired genre.
nounA literary work composed by stitching together lines or passages borrowed from other authors, forming a new whole.
- A literary or poetic composition formed from passages taken from other writers.
"Her poem was a cento assembled entirely from Shakespeare's sonnets."
"His cento wove together lines from Homer and Virgil into an elegy for his friend."
"The anthology included a playful cento drawn entirely from Victorian newspaper headlines."
Also occasionally pluralized as 'centones' on the Latin model, but 'centos' is standard.
"The journal published several centos in its special issue on found poetry."
The word 'cento' literally means 'patchwork garment' — poets have been quilting verses from other poets' lines for centuries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cento
The English word 'cento' was borrowed in the early seventeenth century from Latin 'cento', meaning a patchwork garment or quilt. The Latin term came to be applied metaphorically to literary compositions made of borrowed verses, a practice known in antiquity among both Greek and Roman writers. The ultimate origin of the Latin noun is uncertain, so no deeper root can be stated with confidence.
How cento is actually used
A learned, formal term used chiefly in literary criticism and poetry circles; it carries no negative connotation, though centos are sometimes composed as exercises or tributes rather than as original expression.
Easily confused with cento
A canto is a major division of a long poem, whereas a cento is a whole work built from borrowed passages.
A century is a period of one hundred years, unrelated in meaning to the literary patchwork that is a cento.