Centime (from la, centesimus) is

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

for "

cent Cent may refer to: Currency * Cent (currency), a one-hundredth subdivision of several units of currency * Penny (Canadian coin), a Canadian coin removed from circulation in 2013 * 1 cent (Dutch coin), a Dutch coin minted between 1941 and 1944 * ...

", and is used in English as the name of the fraction

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 ...

in several

Francophone countries French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

(including

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

). In France, the usage of ''centime'' goes back to the introduction of the decimal monetary system under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. 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 The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

. In

Francophone Canada French is the mother tongue of approximately 7.2 million Canadians (22.8 percent of the Canadian population, second to English at 56 percent) according to the 2016 Canadian Census. Most Canadian native speakers of French live in Quebec, ...

of a

Canadian dollar The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style g ...

is officially known as a ''cent'' (pronounced /sɛnt/) in both English and French. However, in practice, the form of ''cenne'' (pronounced /sɛn/) 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 Canadian French (french: français canadien) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Canadian French'' referred solely to Quebec ...

vernacular ''sou'', ''sou noir'' (' means "black" in French), ''cenne'', and ''cenne noire'' are all widely known, used, and accepted monikers when referring to either of a Canadian dollar or the 1¢ coin (colloquially known as a "penny" in North American English).

Subdivision of euro: cent or centime?

In the European community, ''cent'' is the official name for one hundredth of a

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 . ...

. 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,

dirham The dirham, dirhem or dirhm ( ar, درهم) is a silver unit of currency historically and currently used by several Arab world, Arab and Arabization, Arab influenced states. The term has also been used as a related unit of mass. Unit of ...

s 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

A centime is one-hundredth of the following basic monetary units:

Current

* Algerian dinar * Burundian franc * CFP franc * CFA franc *

Comorian franc The franc (french: link=no, franc comorien; ar, فرنك قمري; sign: FC; ISO 4217 code: KMF) is the official currency of Comoros. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ''centimes'', although no centime denominations have ever been issued. His ...

* Congolese franc *

Djiboutian franc The Djiboutian franc ( ar, فرنك) is the currency of Djibouti. Its ISO 4217 currency code is ''DJF''. Historically, it was subdivided into 100 ''centimes''. History From 1884, when the French Somaliland protectorate was established, the Fr ...

* Ethiopian birr (as santim) *

Guinean franc The Guinean franc (french: franc guinéen, ISO 4217 code: ''GNF'') is the currency of Guinea. It is subdivided into one hundred ''centimes'', but no centime denominations were ever issued. History First Guinean franc The first Guinean franc was ...

Haitian gourde The gourde () or goud () is the currency of Haiti. Its ISO 4217 code is HTG and it is divided into 100 ''centimes'' (French) or ''santim'' (Creole). The word "gourde" is a French cognate for the Spanish term "gordo", from the "pesos gordos" ( ...

Moroccan dirham The Moroccan dirham ( ar, درهم, translit=dirham, ary, درهم, translit=derhem; ber, ⴷⵔⵀⵎ, translit=drhm; sign: DH; code: MAD) is the official monetary currency of Morocco. It is issued by the Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of ...

Rwandan franc The Rwandan franc (sign: FRw,National Bank of Rwanda.Currency characteristics" Accessed 2017-02-20. and possibly RF or R₣; ISO 4217: RWF) is the currency of Rwanda. It is subdivided into 100 centimes.National Bank of Rwanda.Legal tender." Acce ...

Swiss franc The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the ...

(by

and English speakers only; Italian speakers use

centesimo ''Centesimo'' (plural centesimi) is the Italian word for "cent", derived from the Latin ''centesimus'' meaning "hundredth". In Italy it was the division of the Italian lira. Currencies that have centesimo as subunits include: Circulating * Swi ...

. See Rappen)

Obsolete

* Algerian franc *

Belgian franc The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutc ...

(Dutch: ) * Cambodian franc * French Camerounian franc * French Guianan franc *

French franc The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...

* Guadeloupe franc * Katangese franc *

Latvian lats The lats (plural: ''lati'' or ''latu'' (if the number can be divided by 10), ISO 4217 currency code: LVL or 428) was the currency of Latvia from 1922 until 1940 and from 1993 until it was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014. A two-week tran ...

(Latvian: santīms) *

Luxembourgish franc The Luxembourg franc (''F'' or ISO ''LUF'', lb, Frang), subdivided into 100 centimes, was the currency of Luxembourg between 1854 and 2002, except in 1941–44. In 1944–2002, its value was equal to that of the Belgian franc. The franc remain ...

Malagasy franc The franc (ISO 4217 code ''MGF'') was the currency of Madagascar until January 1, 2005. It was subdivided into 100 centimes. In Malagasy the corresponding term for the franc is '' iraimbilanja'', and five Malagasy francs is called '' ariary''. ...

* Malian franc * Martinique franc * Monegasque franc * Moroccan franc *

New Hebrides franc The franc was the currency of the Anglo-French Condominium of the Pacific island group of the New Hebrides (which became Vanuatu in 1980). It circulated alongside British and later Australian currency. The New Hebrides franc was nominally divide ...

* Réunion franc *

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 ...

* Tunisian franc * Westphalian frank

References

{{Reflist Marianne (personification)