The céntimo (in

Spanish-speaking countries The following is a list of countries where Spanish is an official language, plus a number of countries where Spanish or any language closely related to it, is an important or significant language. Official or national language Spanish is the of ...

) or cêntimo (in

Portuguese-speaking countries The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (Portuguese: ''Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa''; abbreviated as the CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth (''Comunidade Lusófona''), is an international organization and poli ...

) was a

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general def ...

unit of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and their former colonies. The word derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

...''deci'', ''centi'', ''milli'', abbreviations of ''decimus'', ''centimus'', ''millimus'' and meaning ''tenth part'', ''hundredth part'', ''thousandth part''
/ref> meaning "hundredth part". The main Spanish currency, before the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

, was the peseta which was divided into 100 céntimos. In Portugal it was the

real Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

and later the

escudo The escudo ( Portuguese: 'shield') is a unit of currency historically used in Portugal and its colonies in South America, Asia, and Africa. It was originally worth 16 silver . The Cape Verdean escudo and the former Portuguese escudo (PTE), eac ...

, until it was also replaced by the euro. In the European community ''cent'' is the official name for one hundredth of a euro. However, both ''céntimo'' (in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

) and ''cêntimo'' (in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

) are commonly used to describe the euro cent. 50 Sentimos (Philippines)

Current use

Céntimo or cêntimo is one-hundredth of the following basic monetary units:

Portuguese cêntimo

Angolan kwanza The kwanza (sign: Kz; ISO 4217 code: ) is the currency of Angola. Four different currencies using the name kwanza have circulated since 1977. The currency derives its name from the Kwanza River (Cuanza, Coanza, Quanza). Overview First kwanz ...

São Tomé and Príncipe dobra SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...

Spanish céntimo

Costa Rican colón The colón (plural: ''colones''; sign: ₡; code: CRC) is the currency of Costa Rica. It was named after Christopher Columbus, known as ''Cristóbal Colón'' in Spanish. A colón is divided into one hundred céntimos. Symbol The symbol for ...

(but as

centavo The centavo (Spanish and Portuguese 'one hundredth') is a fractional monetary unit that represents one hundredth of a basic monetary unit in many countries around the world. The term comes from Latin ''centum'', ('one hundred'), with the added suf ...

between 1917 and 1920) *

Paraguayan guaraní The guaraní (, plural: ''guaraníes''; sign: ₲; code: PYG) is the national currency unit of Paraguay. The guaraní was divided into 100 céntimos but, because of inflation, céntimos are no longer in use. The currency sign is ; if unavaila ...

Peruvian sol The sol (; plural: soles; currency sign: S/) is the currency of Peru; it is subdivided into 100 ''céntimos'' ("cents"). The ISO 4217 currency code is PEN. The sol replaced the Peruvian inti in 1991 and the name is a return to that of Peru's hi ...

Philippine peso The Philippine peso, also referred to by its Tagalog name ''piso'' (Philippine English: , , plural pesos; tl, piso ; sign: ₱; code: PHP), is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 ''sentimo'', also called ce ...

(as ''séntimo'' in Filipino, as

in English) *

Venezuelan bolívar The bolívar is the official currency of Venezuela. Named after the hero of Latin American independence Simón Bolívar, it was introduced following the monetary reform in 1879, before which the venezolano was circulating. Due to its decade- ...

Obsolete

Portuguese cêntimo

Mozambican metica The metica (plural ''meticas'') was a proposed currency for Mozambique. It was divided into 100 centimos. Coins were produced dated 1975 and banknotes dated 1976. However, these were not put into circulation and the escudo continued to circulate ...

(never issued)

Spanish céntimo

* Sahrawi peseta *

Spanish peseta The peseta (, ), * ca, pesseta, was the currency of Spain between 1868 and 2002. Along with the French franc, it was also a ''de facto'' currency used in Andorra (which had no national currency with legal tender). Etymology The name of th ...

References

Coins of Spain {{money-unit-stub