English → Latin
“centre” in Latin
centrumcentermediusmiddle, mid, central, between, midway between, in the center; half; moderatecōnsistōto stop, stand, halt; to pause, linger; to hardenpōnōto place; to put; to lay; to ordain; to appoint; to make (something); to set up; to pitch (camp)vertōto turn, turn oneself, direct one's way, to turn about, turn around, revolve; to turn upside down, overturn, overthrow, contineōto hold, keep, connect, contain, maintain; to hold or keep together/close; connect, surround; to keep in, enclose, boundstōto stand; to stay, remain; to cost, to be set at, stand at (e.g., a price)
The English word centre itself goes back to Latin centrum.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
centre s.
of a circle, centrum (κέντρον): punctum in medio situm.
Of a place, medius alicujus rei locus (e.g., of the earth, medius mundi imiversi locus): media alicujus rei pars (Observation, in oblique cases locus and pars often omitted; e.g., in medio or in media urbis). Mostly by medius in agreement: the centre of the line, media acies; also medii: of the island, media insula: to break through the centre of the enemy’s line, per mediam aciem hostium perrumpere: to be situated in the centre of any place, in medio aliquo loco situm esse. Examples like altera arx urbis media est, “is in the centre of the city,” are rare. OBSERVE: (1), Avoid centrum, except for the centre of a circle. Plin. has centrum caeli, solis, terrae, etc., but these bodies were supposed “disks.” Cic. uses, for the centre of the earth, medius terrae locus. (2) Avoid umbilicus, which Cic. uses only of Greek places, as a translation of the Greek ὀμφαλος.
centre v.
consistere: positum or situm esse in aliqua re: constare penes aliquem (Caes.): verti, contineri, stare, or niti aliqua re: pendere ex aliquo or ex aliqua re: effici aliqua re: less frequently residere in aliqua re (Cic.). The whole of morality centres in the performance of duty, in officio colendo sita vitae est honestas ononis (Cic..) At that time all the prospects of the state centered in Marius, ea tempestate spes atque opes civitatis in Mario sitae (Sall.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for centre?
- The usual Latin words for “centre” are centrum, medius, cōnsistō; also pōnō, vertō, contineō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.