centraln.1
/ˈsɛntr(ə)l/, U.S. /ˈsɛntrəl/ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > central condition or position > [noun] > central part > central or innermost part
hearteOE
yolk1340
centruma1398
marrow1434
core1614
kernela1642
centrals1649
nucleus1702
centrepiece1739
1649 W. Charleton tr. J. B. van Helmont Ternary of Paradoxes 45 They can onely extract the pestilentiall Atomes from the centralls [1650 centralls] of an infected body [L. ut pestiferam duntaxat auram extrahant].
1652 W. Charleton Darknes Atheism iv. 143 An Angel..descends into the Centrals of the Earth.
1675 G. Harvey Dis. of London vii. 107 The said Extraneous Salt having..attracted the Volatil Salts into its [sc. the stomach's] Centrals, they meet with the Acid, that's latent in its Bowels.
2. U.S. A (central) telephone exchange. Also: an operator at such an exchange. Often without determiner. Now historical.Chiefly applied to exchanges having manual switchboards staffed by telephone operators.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > telephone equipment > [noun] > exchange
telephone exchange1878
local exchange1879
call office1882
central1883
exchange1887
private branch exchange1904
PBX1914
zone centre1934
1883 S. Huntley Spoopendyke Papers 5 When I want to talk to any one, I just turn this crank and say, ‘Hello, hello!’ and the girl at the central says, ‘Hello, hello!’ and I tell her who I want.
1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee xv. 184 I used to wake..and say ‘Hello, Central!’ just to hear her dear voice.
1925 F. S. Fitzgerald Great Gatsby viii. 186 I tried four times; finally an exasperated central told me the wire was being kept open for long distance from Detroit.
1948 Chicago Sun-Times 7 Sept. 47/3 He thought all those other rings were somebody calling ‘central’.
2008 R. Dennis Cities in Modernity xii. 332 Women were thought to be more patient and polite, intoning ‘Hello, Central!’ and ‘Number, Please’ far more winningly than any male operator.
3. With the or without article. The organization, body, etc., in which power or authority is concentrated, or by which subsidiary agencies are controlled or coordinated; the managerial or administrative centre of an organization, industry, district, etc.
ΚΠ
1901 Gleanings Bee Culture 1 Feb. 82/2 The central should have a list of all honey-dealers in every city and town of importance all over the country.
1901 Associated Iron-Moulders of Scotl. Monthly Rep. Oct. 138/2 When any one makes application for this assistance the District Secretary must send to Central for a form on behalf of [etc.].
1914 St. Louis Publ. Libr. Ann. Rep. 1913–14 63 The number of works in non-English languages sent from Central to the branches amounted this year to 1,249.
1974 J. D. Hendry Social Hist. Branch Libr. Devel. 138 The controversy..whether branches and central should follow a policy such as Barrett advocated of a principle of variation.
1997 J. Lou Macroeconomic Reform in China vii. 119 Specialized banks must guarantee payments; if not, the central will have to make up for the shortage by increasing the base money supply.
4.
a. As the last element in names of organizations, bodies, etc., denoting them to be the main or principal centre of operations. Also used with reference to a central or main computer system. See also command central n. at command n. Additions.Sometimes interpreted as a postpositive use of central adj.
ΚΠ
1950 Bull. National Res. Council No. 122. 75 The recently established USAF Arctic Weather Central was described with respect to its routine operations and planned investigative activities.
1960 Flying Feb. 35/2 The Data Processing Central will also be capable of utilizing terminal area radar information in advance of an aircraft's arrival.
1970 Dept. Def. Appropriations Fiscal Year 1971: Hearings before U.S. Senate Appropriations Comm. (91st Congr., 2nd Sess.) III. 1108 Activities include completion of Tactical Air Command Central operation evaluation.
1992 SPEC (Assoc. Res. Libraries, Washington, DC) June 67 When a serial issue is checked in on one OLIS campus system, OLIS Central can immediately include the new issue in its screen display when responding to a search request from any of the participating campus systems.
2013 M. Wellman Linda Perdido i. 4 FedEx Central will want to know the cause whereby the truck came to be lost to Donn.
b. colloquial (originally North American). As the second element in compounds denoting a place characterized by, or with a high concentration of, the thing specified by the modifying word. Cf. city n. 4c.Frequently with capital initials in both elements of the compound so formed.
ΚΠ
1967 R. Bronsteen Hippy's Handbk. 14 Hashbury: colloquial for Haight-Ashbury (hippy central in S[an] F[rancisco]).
1985 R. L. Simon Calif. Roll iii. 28 The fourth floor itself was known as Nerd Central around the company.
1994 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 5 Feb. c1/2 He seems perfectly at home here in cowboy central.
2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 2 May v. 8/2 We were there to sample the night life of a city that is quickly gaining the reputation as party central in Eastern Europe.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
centraln.2
/sɛnˈtrɑːl/, U.S. /ˌsɛnˈtrɑl/ In the Philippines, and Central and South America: a mill for processing cane into raw sugar. More fully sugar central. Also (with capital initials) in the names of such mills.
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1889 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Disp. 28 Apr. 20/7 With the exception of the large centrals, the season will be finished with the present month.
1922 Amer. Sugar Bull. 16 July 122/1 Three centrales finished grinding between July 4th and 11th, including Central Baguanos which worked until late in September last year.
1939 Pacific Affairs 12 305 Wages at the Tarlac Central range well above 90 pesos.., some of our higher Filipino employees receiving as much as 450 pesos a month.
1960 S. W. Mintz Worker in Cane ii. 25 These new centrales were very modern..and a symbol of the..changes in Puerto Rican life wrought by the Americans.
1975 Jrnl. Econ. Hist. 35 260 Factory railroads carried the necessary tonnage of cane to these centrals.
2014 Philippine Daily Inquirer (Nexis) 22 Dec. Migrant laborers from Panay..have started..in the cane fields to feed the eight mills..in the province, out of the 28 sugar centrals all over the country.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
centraladj.
/ˈsɛntr(ə)l/, U.S. /ˈsɛntrəl/ 1. That is at the core or heart of something; of, relating to, or constituting the most important or significant part or aspect of something; chief, principal; essential. Frequently with to. Cf. centre n.1 10c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > essential or central
cardinal1440
material1603
primal1619
real1620
centrical1659
vital1659
essential1770
nucleal1826
key1832
pivotal1837
keystone1846
pivot1861
quintessential1901
central1902
core1962
1623 R. N. E. in tr. Reuelation Secret Spirit Ep. Ded. sig. A5 Carefully proceed in the practical search of that Chrystalline central Salt, whereof this Treatise wittily handleth.
1647 H. More Philos. Poems iv. xlvi The most profound and centrall energie, The very selfnesse of the soul.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. i. vii. 70 The natural price..is, as it were, the central price, to which the prices of all commodities are continually gravitating. View more context for this quotation
1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh i. 29 Every turn Still brought me nearer to the central truth.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues IV. 493 Odysseus is the central figure of the one poem.
1882 F. W. Farrar Early Days Christianity II. 438 Love is the very central command of Christianity.
1902 Daily Chron. 10 June 3/2 The older views of the authority and inspiration of Scripture are central to his whole system.
1957 N. Frye Anat. Crit. 243 Literature seems in a way to be central to the arts.
2006 F. Wilczek Fantastic Realities 285 There are no common words for several of the most central concepts of quantum theory.
2. Of or relating to the physical centre or middle of something; situated in, proceeding from, or constituting the centre.In quot. 1631 as part of an extended metaphor.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > central condition or position > [adjective]
central1631
centre1787
spinal1841
1631 R. Fludd Answer vnto M. Foster ii. i. 31 The more vertuous the centrall Agent is in any thing, the larger will his semidiameters be, and consequently his circumference.
1639 G. Plattes Discov. Subterraneall Treasure 3 The new Accretion..doth presse downe still with its weight the said Ilands of Ice towards the Center, where the centrall heate melteth it off continually.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 2 Leaving that central spot in the middle of the flea-biting, where the probe entred.
1720 J. Hughes Ecstasy vii. 5 Around the Central Sun in circling Eddys roll'd.
1837 R. W. Emerson Oration before Phi Beta Kappa Soc. 21 One central fire..flaming now out of the lips of Etna.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. §15. 310 The quicker central flow [of a glacier].
1900 C. Johnson Along French Byways iv. 73 They were like so many spokes starting from the central hub of a gigantic wheel.
1941 Gen. Mag. & Hist. Chron. July 453 General Nathaniel Greene's troops..had taken up a central position between the right and left wings at the commencement of the engagement.
1961 K. Gough in D. M. Schneider & K. Gough Matrilineal Kinship vi. 335 A passage led to the central courtyard, round which rooms opened off on three sides.
2014 Northern Echo (Nexis) 27 Dec. A girder fell from the top of the bridge... It bounced, crashing into the central column.
3.
a. Of a place or location: situated at the centre of a region or district, or so as to be easily accessible from many parts of the region or district. Later also: that forms a focus for a specified activity, occupation, etc., in an area. Cf. centre n.1 12a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > central condition or position > [adjective] > forming a centre for its surroundings
central1647
1647 S. Hartlib Considerations Englands Reformation 53 For the Addresse of Accomodations, no doubt London will bee the most Centrall place.
1675 J. Ogilby Britannia Pref. 2 Roads to the less central Cities.
?1790 A. Bicknell Doncaster Races II. xlvi. 13 Grand Cairo was one of the richest and most flourishing cities in the universe. It was the central mart for merchandise between Asia and Europe.
1799 I. Weld Trav. N. Amer. iv. 46 The capitol is now building upon the most elevated spot of ground in the city, which happens to be in a very central situation.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion viii. 369 Palmyra, central in the Desart. View more context for this quotation
1861 R. Swinhoe Narr. N. China Campaign 1860 7 The island..from its central position would form a good depôt for troops.
1922 Archit. Rec. Nov. 380/1 A central location for the high school was considered of paramount importance.
1941 Indiana: Guide to Hoosier State (Federal Writers' Project) 436 The town was founded in 1831 as a central trading post in an area containing many Indian villages.
2004 County Wedding Mag. 57/1 After a trundle up the promenade we couldn't ignore the lure of the shops any longer and zoomed in on the resort's central shopping area.
2015 Derby Tel. (Nexis) 29 Apr. 2 Derby..has an easily accessible, central location with excellent rail and road transport links to London, Birmingham and the North.
b. That forms a focal point in any system of organization, distribution, etc.; that constitutes a hub or centre in a network of some kind. Frequently with some element of sense 4a.
ΚΠ
1813 Repository Arts, Lit., Commerce Nov. 293/2 To arrest Blucher's progress, Bonapart once or twice brought out troops from his central store at Dresden.
1836 Manch. Courier 8 Oct. Connected as this town will be with some of the principal railways in the kingdom, it would seem desirable to have a central station, from which, as from a focus, the various lines should radiate out of Manchester.
1884 Bristol Mercury 23 Jan. 6/3 The connection of hospitals, cab stands, and public call stations with the central exchange.
1886 Times 25 Sept. 11/1 It is stated that the company has been established for the purpose of providing in certain districts in the town of Birmingham a system of motive power distribution by compressed air produced at a central station.
1933 Discovery Apr. 132/2 When all the direct junctions to an exchange are engaged, subsequent calls to that exchange are passed..through a central exchange.
1941 Gen. Mag. & Hist Chron. Jan. 236 The establishment of a central bureau for the storage and distribution of half-tone cuts.
2005 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 6 Sept. (Business section) 3 Users connect to each other directly without going through a central server.
c. Designating that part of a town, city, etc., where population is densest or trade busiest. Cf. centre n.1 12b.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > part of town or city > [adjective] > centre
downstreet1828
central1829
downtown1837
1829 Morning Chron. 1 May The professional and educated classes of central London will..be gratified to learn, that [etc.].
1897 Insurance Press 3 Feb. 4/1 A bill..asking that the height of the general run of buildings in central Boston be restricted to a maximum of 80 feet.
1917 Flying 25 July 2/2 Tests with various sirens were made in Central London in order to ascertain whether they would be audible.
1976 P. R. White Planning for Public Transport iv. 74 The creation of links across city centres..to enable S-bahn trains to offer better accessibility within the central area.
2010 Church Times 3 Sept. 29/1 Cross Street Chapel in central Manchester.
4.
a. Designating an organization, body, etc., in which power or authority is concentrated, or by which subsidiary agencies are controlled or coordinated; principal or chief in a system of organization.Frequently opposed to local or regional, esp. with reference to government and administration.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > a or the system of government > centralized or regionalized systems > [adjective] > centralized or centralizing
central1777
centralized1799
centralist1827
centralizing1832
unitarist1862
1777 London Evening-Post 31 May By means of a central government, acting with energy and dispatch to its several extremities..the case is very different.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. v. i. 441 In 1811 the different district societies were incorporated as members of a central association.
1888 W. E. Gladstone in Spectator 562/1 To commence not with local but with central institutions.
1936 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 44 28 The power to issue money..should increasingly be concentrated in the hands of the central government.
1976 Honolulu Star-Bull. 21 Dec. a7/6 Aides said he also will name his director of central intelligence.
2012 Guardian 6 July 19/2 In the absence of a strong central authority, ethnic quarrels have broken out in several parts of the country.
b. Of an activity, process, etc.: taking place at, undertaken from, or concentrated in a centre; centralized; characterized by centralization.
ΚΠ
1803 Morning Chron. 17 Feb. The plan would..as we suppose, exhibit both Constitutions for the different Cantons, and a central organization of the whole.
1874 Financier 16 May 303/1 The system of central regulation of everything from Washington.
1887 Amer. Bookseller 1 June 312/1 There is the possibility that this advantage of central manufacture, and distribution by many publishers with their imprints, might be extended to copyright productions.
1921 G. D. H. Cole Future of Local Govt. xii. 112 To escape the disadvantages of central ownership and control by regionalizing instead of nationalizing many industries and services.
1950 Americas 6 389 The lack of coordinated central control over the discoherent declarations and activities of our successive ministers to Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.
2010 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 12 Oct. 10 Civil servants ran up a £1 billion bill on Whitehall ‘charge cards’ without any central monitoring.
5.
a. Chiefly Politics. Sometimes with capital initial. Characterized by or holding views in the centre of a spectrum of opinion; neither right- nor left-wing; moderate. Cf. centre n.1 15.In early use frequently with reference to France: see the note at centre n.1 15.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > groups or attitudes right to left > [adjective] > centre
central1819
centre1834
centrist1874
1819 Morning Chron. 6 Jan. There was but one minister..in this central party.
1835 Morning Post 19 Mar. 5/2 Ministers claim the victory because a majority of about seventy or eighty of the Central voters caused the discussion to be closed.
1873 Daily News 1 Mar. 4/6 The Central parties, whether leaning to the Left or to the Right..are paralysed by indecision and pusillanimity.
1926 W. E. Walling Amer. Labor & Amer. Democracy i. vii. 135 Opportunist Democrats of the central faction of that party may at times gravitate even towards a conservative Republican President, in spite of previous co-operation with the progressive wings of both parties.
1973 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 409 195/1 British political parties are constrained by..the need to win the central voter from developing radically opposing policies.
2005 D. Fell Party Polit. in Taiwan vi. 123 The DPP did attempt to reach out to central voters and remove its image of radical Taiwan independence.
b. Designating a division or tradition within the Anglican Communion with a liturgical practice regarded as neither distinctly High Church nor Low Church; that adheres to or maintains such practice.
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1902 C. Booth Life & Labour London 3rd Ser. VI. v. 144 St. Bartholomew's, the parish church of Sydenham, is moderate; being described as ‘central Anglican’ or ‘old High church’.
1937 E. Underhill Worship (ed. 3) xv. 327 Modern Anglican worship, whether Evangelical, Central, or Anglo-catholic, is heir of two great revivals of the Godward life.
1952 Musical Times 93 88/2 (advt.) Holy Trinity Church, Malvern. Organist and choirmaster required immediately. Central Churchmanship; R.S.C.M. affiliated.
1975 Church Times 2 May 6 It is..to be hoped that this little book will be..adopted as the standard work on ceremonial for churches of the catholic tradition; there is, indeed, much in it that could be profitably studied..by evangelicals and by central churchmen.
2011 Dover Express (Nexis) 14 July 21 Central Anglicanism is restrained rather than exuberant, disciplined rather than free-ranging, dignified rather than demonstrative.
6. Medicine and Physiology. Of, relating to, or affecting the central nervous system (see Compounds); occurring or arising in the central nervous system.
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the world > life > the body > nervous system > cerebrospinal axis > [adjective] > grey matter > nerve centre
ganglionic1825
centric1833
central1838
intercentral1870
1838 M. Hall in Lancet 7 Apr. 35/2 The Central Diseases, or Diseases of the True Spinal Marrow itself.
1861 Lancet 1 June 534/1 In case 2 the limbs of the side opposite to the central lesion were attacked by fits of convulsions previously to their being paralysed.
1910 A. Abrams Diagnostic Therapeutics vi. 912 The paralysis is spastic and associated with contractures and exaggerated reflexes because the inhibitory influence of the central neurones is lost.
1967 Brain 90 497 It seems reasonably certain that acetylcholine..must act as a transmitter substance at some central synapses.
2007 C. A. Bauer & T. J. Brozoski in B. Langguth et al. Tinnitus xxvii. 287 Several lines of evidence suggest that loss of central inhibition after deprivation of input from the ear..may be one cause of chronic tinnitus.
7. Phonetics. Of a vowel: articulated with the centre of the tongue raised in a position between front and back. Cf. back adj. 1d, front n. Compounds 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [adjective] > types of
openeOE
sharp?1533
simple1582
small1599
soft1625
obscurea1637
round1710
slender1755
close1760
wide1824
lowered1836
narrow1844
labialized1856
orinasal1856
central1857
reduced1861
free1864
high1867
low1867
mid1867
mixed1867
rounded1867
unrounded1871
raised1876
unreduced1894
obscured1897
spread1902
lax1909
slack1909
tense1909
centralized1926
flat1934
r-coloured1935
checked1943
1857 J. G. Murphy Elements Hebrew Gram. i. i. 5 They [sc. vowels] are distinguished by the place where the muscles are exerted in their utterance. They are produced by organic conformation: A, the central vowel, at the middle of the mouth.
1895 School Rev. 3 376 Unstressed vowels..are subject to the tendency to become a central vowel and finally disappear.
1933 O. Jespersen Essent. Eng. Gram. 24 The vowels..are either front, central, or back, according to the part of the tongue that is highest.
1965 W. S. Allen Vox Latina 4 Vowels intermediate between front and back are referred to as central.
2011 P. Bye in M. van Oostendorp et al. Blackwell Compan. Phonology III. lx. 1412 [∧] is a somewhat low central vowel.
8. In various team sports (esp. Association Football): designating a player who typically plays down the centre of the pitch, as central defender, central midfielder, etc. Also: designating the position of such a player or the corresponding section of a team's formation, as central defence, central midfield, etc.
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1894 M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (ed. 4) ii. vii. 423 All such temptation has to be shunned, and the ball worked steadily up the field..until it reaches the hands of ‘central forward’, who ought to put it through.
1961 Observer 8 Jan. 16/7 Again the Ipswich central defence collapsed.
1976 Milton Keynes Express 16 July 36/7 Manager Dennis Hillyard is anxious to hear from any experienced players wishing to join the club, particularly a central defender.
2004 Vanity Fair July 148/1 Beckham abandoned his traditional sideline-hugging role for a place in the bruising mêlée of central midfield.
2012 North Shore News (Brit. Columbia) (Nexis) 6 June 37 We don't have a lot of players who usually play central midfield.
Compounds
central air n. North American = central air conditioning n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > freedom from impurities > removal of impurities > ventilation and air-conditioning > [noun]
ventilation1664
ventilating1743
air conditioning1909
central air conditioning1923
central air1955
AC1962
air-con1970
air1974
1955 Odessa (Texas) Amer. 30 Sept. 37/7 (advt.) Lovely brick home with beautiful yard, fenced. central air and heat.
2006 Miami Herald (Nexis) 23 Sept. 5 You can save up to $500 annually by upgrading your central air with a more fuel efficient system.
central air conditioning n. air conditioning of multiple rooms in a building by a single air conditioning unit, typically using a series of ducts (frequently attributive); (also) a system or facility capable of performing this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > freedom from impurities > removal of impurities > ventilation and air-conditioning > [noun]
ventilation1664
ventilating1743
air conditioning1909
central air conditioning1923
central air1955
AC1962
air-con1970
air1974
1923 U.S. Patent 1,455,846 1/2 B represents a central air conditioning or humidifying apparatus adapted to supply conditioned air for delivery to the several rooms or stories of the building.
1952 Economist 18 Oct. 164/2 Some [housing contractors] declared that in a few years no house in the price range above $15,000 will be constructed without central air conditioning.
1973 Pop. Sci. May 43/1 Most central air conditioning systems are designed to do the same job. Cool your house.
2009 Globe (Atchison, Kansas) 10 June 11 Almost two-thirds of those who had a repair said their central air conditioning broke down for a day.
central angle n. an angle formed at the centre of something; esp. any angle at the centre of a circle which is subtended by an arc of its circumference.
ΚΠ
1705 Acct. Origin & Formation Fossil-shells 48 Those triangular Dilatations being not join'd together as Valves of one Shell, must..fold in their Central Angle.
1766 A. Cumming Elements Clock & Watch-work 185 The same central angle ACB, subtends both the curves on the edges of the cylinder.
1854 Boston Daily Atlas 8 Dec. 2/2 The southern limb of the central angle..is two German miles in length, and presents a steep, shelving coast.
2006 J. Stewart et al. Precalculus (ed. 5) vi. 473 Angular speed is the rate at which the central angle..is changing.
Central Asian adj. and n. (a) adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of the central parts of Asia, esp. the region south of Russia, between the Caspian Sea and China, and comprising several former Soviet republics; (b) n. a native or inhabitant of the central parts of Asia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Asia > [adjective] > region of
South Asian1821
Central Asian1840
Ural-Altaic1853
East Asian1860
Uralic1861
Uralo-Altaic1867
South-east Asian1898
1840 Bombay Times 3 June 357/4 The Central Asian operations we have lately been engaged in..have completely altered our old line of Indian policy.
1876 S. McBean Eng., Palestine, Egypt & India xii. 110 The construction of a railway through Central Asia towards Khiva..is..of no value to anyone but Russia and the Central Asians.
1916 S. Graham Through Russ. Central Asia viii. 136 The Central Asian pioneers are great talkers about their own country.
1954 Southwestern Jrnl. Anthropol. 10 46 The Central Asians scorn agriculture and engage in it only when on the borders of agricultural people and under severe economic pressure.
2010 X. Liu Silk Road in World Hist. i. 15 Due to the arid climate of the Central Asian oases, many of the silk textiles made in China..have survived in local burials there.
central bank n. a financial institution that provides banking services to a country’s government and commercial banking system, being responsible for delivering the government's monetary objectives, and often performing other functions such as issuing currency, managing the national debt, and acting as the principal regulator for the commercial financial sector.In early use probably not as a fixed collocation.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > banking > [noun] > bank > other types of bank
merchant bank1620
land-bank1696
private bank1696
paper bankc1720
national bank1736
bank of circulation1767
bank of deposit1767
corporate bank1780
state bank1791
branch bank1796
reserve bank1816
investment bank1824
bank of issue1831
commercial bank1838
red dog1838
wild cat1838
central bank1841
national bank1864
investment house1878
issue house1878
clearing-bank1883
issuing house1890
member bank1914
custodian1915
merchant banker1924
Swiss bank1949
development bank1950
Transcash1982
telephone bank1985
bancassurer1991
1841 Hunt's Merchants' Mag. Apr. 332 To enjoy the full benefit of the banking system, you must combine with them [sc. local banks] a central bank..to serve the double purpose of checking the local banks, and furnishing a currency that can be used everywhere.
1844 R. Peel Speeches House of Commons Renewal of Bank Charter 31 When the privileges of the Central Bank ceased..then came..immoderate issues of paper, extravagant speculation.
1873 Daily News 3 Feb. 5/5 It is..an anomaly of the worst sort that a body of gentlemen who are not professional bankers..should control the central Bank of the Kingdom, on whose action the credit system of the whole country depends.
1930 J. M. Keynes Treat. Money II. xxxii. 225 The first necessity of a Central Bank..is to make sure that it has an unchallengeable control over the total volume of bank-money created by its Member Banks.
1965 J. L. Hanson Dict. Econ. 62/2 It is not thought advisable for a central bank to compete with the commercial banks and, therefore, it should not engage in ordinary banking business.
2009 Independent 19 Feb. 1/2 The severity of the recession has driven the usually conservative central bank to throw caution to the winds.
central banker n. a person in charge of, or having senior responsibility within, a central bank.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > banking > [noun] > one conducting banking business > manager, director, or proprietor of bank
bank mastera1625
banker1670
bank director1695
bank manager1734
bank president1819
banket1846
central banker1930
1930 Times 10 Oct. 18/1 Whenever the governor of a central bank journeys abroad either for a holiday or to pay a visit to another central banker.
1963 Economist 28 Dec. 1318/1 These central bankers..have created, almost malgré eux, a code of practice.
1986 Times 12 May 17/6 There was a time when..almost the only thing on which central bankers were agreed was the need to keep their intentions unclear.
2013 City A.M. (Nexis) 17 Sept. 23 Central bankers should not be seen as star footballers. At best, they are referees.
central belt n. (also with capital initials) (in Scotland) the densely populated belt of land which stretches between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, and which includes Edinburgh and Glasgow.In quot. 1889 probably not a fixed collocation.
ΚΠ
1889 Scotsman 30 July 4/5 The operation which Mr Acworth suggests, of removing the ‘central belt’ of the Kingdom, would resemble that of taking the meat from an oyster and appraising the value of the upper and lower shells.
1896 Australasian Pastoralists' Rev. 15 Aug. 285/2 In the central belt of Scotland wheat, barley and potatoes are all above average in 'the kingdom' of Fife.
1959 P. R. Cox Demography (ed. 3) xi. 266 The population in the industrial north of England and central belt of Scotland grew more rapidly than did that of the remainder of each country.
2014 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 28 Sept. 45 It is a stunning, historic house—almost a castle—but is too far from the central belt for commuters.
central body n. Cell Biology (now historical) the structure located at the centre of the aster during mitosis; = centrosome n. 1.
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1889 Amer. Naturalist 23 465 It is now designated as the sphere of attraction, and is seen..to contain a separate central body (centrosoma of Boveri).
1905 Amer. Naturalist 39 696 Many investigators have not been able to satisfy themselves that the central body exhibits the phenomena characteristic of nuclear division even in a simple form.
1974 W. Andrew & C. P. Hickman Histol. Vertebrates ii. 15/1 Another structure that was clearly demonstrated with the light microscope is the central body or centrosome.
central business district n. an area in the centre of a city or town in which business premises are concentrated; abbreviated CBD.
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1863 London Rev. 21 Mar. 299/2 The time will come..when London proper will consist of a series of vast suburbs connected by railroads with a central business district.
1927 F. M. Thrasher Gang i. i. 7 Gangland stretches in a broad semicircular zone about the central business district (the Loop).
2004 D. Smiedt Are we there Yet? (2007) ii. 28 Another no-go zone is the central business district.
central cell n. [originally after German Centralzelle (1851 in the work translated in quot. 1852; now Zentralzelle)] Botany (a) (in cryptogams and gymnosperms) the cell in the archegonium which gives rise to the oosphere (egg cell) and the ventral canal cell; (also) a corresponding cell in the antheridium; (b) (in angiosperms) the large cell in the centre of the female gametophyte (embryo sac) which contains the polar nuclei and after its fertilization gives rise to the endosperm.
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1852 A. Henfrey tr. W. Hofmeister in Rep. Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1851 122 In the central cell of the archegonium, in consequence of a fertilization through the spermatozoids emitted from the antheridia, becomes developed the second generation, destined to produce spores.
1923 Botanisk Tidsskrift 38 81 The author states that the formation of endosperm occurs according to the successive type, the central cell of the embryo sac being at first divided into two cells by a transversal wall.
a1933 J. W. Moll Phytogr. as Fine Art (1934) 202 Fertilisation by means of fusion with the generative cells of the pollen-tube takes place not only with the egg-cell, but also with the large central cell.
1969 Bot. Rev. 35 93 The DNA can be demonstrated in the central cell [in Pinus sylvestris and P. nigra] just before its division to form the ventral canal and the egg cell.
2012 New Phytologist 195 291/2 The pollen tube delivers two sperm cells to the female gametophyte, one of which fuses with the egg cell and one of which fuses with the central cell.
Central Committee n. (in a communist party or country, esp. (now historical) the Soviet Union) a governing body composed of delegates elected during a party congress. The Soviet Central Committee was largely subordinate to the much smaller Politburo. Cf. Politburo n. [Originally after Russian Central′nyj komitet, lit. ‘central committee’ (1898 with reference to a governing body of the predecessor party to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; compare Politburo n.) and Central′nyj ispolnitel′nyj komitet, lit. ‘central executive committee’ (1917 with reference to the permanent body of the Congress of the Soviets of Worker and Soldier Deputees); with reference to China after Chinese zhōngyāng wěiyúanhuì (1927; < zhōngyāng central + wěiyúanhuì committee, commission, council), after Russian.]
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society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > types of body or spec. bodies > [noun] > committee > other types of committee
committee1571
council of war1590
special committee1606
standing committeea1632
Committee of Safety1642
working party1744
finance committee1783
Board (also Court) of county commissioners1806
business committee1825
national committee1826
watch committee1835
working group1888
Central Committee1917
action committee1918
action group1927
ombuds-committee1964
PESC1969
1917 Times 8 Sept. 6/4 A meeting of the Central Committee of the Soviet was held..at which the situation on the front was considered.
1934 B. W. Maxwell Soviet State iii. 42 In theory the Political Bureau is appointed by the Central Committee; in reality the Secretary-General of the Party, if he is powerful enough, makes the selection.
1967 Life 20 Jan. 32/3 Mao and the Central Committee decided that the batteries that had won the revolution in 1949 somehow had to be recharged.
2015 China Daily (Nexis) 29 Jan. The Party's Central Committee has put forward a set of rules to build a clean government.
central conic n. Mathematics a conic section having a centre (see centre n.1 10a).The central conics are the circle, the ellipse, and the hyperbola.
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1844 Proc. Royal Irish Acad. 1840–4 2 496 When an axis of a cone which stands on a given base is always parallel to a given right line, the locus of the vertex is an equilateral hyperbola or a right line, according as the base is a central conic or a parabola.
1929 Amer. Math. Monthly 36 204 The theory developed for the central conics holds for the parabola if we make the customary modifications due to the fact that one focus of the parabola is at infinity.
2012 T. M. Apostol & M. A. Mnatsakanian New Horizons Geom. viii. 256 Focal circles for central conics can be used to give a simple treatment of a classical three-circle problem.
central curve n. Mathematics (now rare) a curve that has a single centre of symmetry; (in early use esp.) a central conic.
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1823 D. Lardner Syst. Algebraic Geom. I. viii. 51 The point y″x″ is called the centre, and the ellipse and hyperbola are thence called by the common name of central curves.
1910 Jrnl. & Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 1908 4 242 For central curves of the second order, the point where the line joining P to the origin meets the polar chord of P is the middle point of that chord.
1947 Jrnl. Tennessee Acad. Sci. 22 134 For ordinary inversion C is a central curve, usually a conic, and O is its center.
central difference n. Mathematics a finite difference calculated by subtracting the value of a function f(x) when x is decreased by a given amount from its value when x is increased by the same amount; compare backward difference n. at backward adv., adj., and n.2 Additions, forward difference n. at forward adj., adv., and n. Additions.In symbolic terms, a central difference can be expressed as δ = f(x + ½h) − f(x − ½h).In quot. 1879: any of a family of formulae defined iteratively for any positive whole number i by Λi +1(f( x )) = Λi(f(x + ½)) − Λi(f(x − ½)), where Λ1(f( x )) = f(x + ½) − f(x − ½).
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1879 E. McClintock in Amer. Jrnl. Math. 2 137 We obtain three series..expressing a differentiate in terms of what we may call upper, lower, and central differences.
1899 Proc. London Math. Soc. 31 428 The method of central differences provides us with series which converge very rapidly, and therefore are suitable for numerical calculation.
1964 Math. of Computation 18 196 The distance derivative is approximated by a central difference at the original time level.
2005 P. A. Mlsna & J. J. Rodréguez in A. C. Bovik Handbk. Image & Video Processing (ed. 2) iv. xiii. 548/2 One may instead apply simpler methods, such as the central difference operator, to estimate the partial derivatives.
central dogma n. Biology (in molecular biology) the principle that information passes from DNA to proteins (via RNA) and not in the reverse direction.
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1958 F. Crick Central Dogma 153 The Central Dogma..states that once ‘information’ has passed into protein it cannot get out again.
1994 J. Kendrew et al. Encycl. Molecular Biol. 179/1 This ‘Central Dogma of Molecular Biology’ has had to be revised following the discovery of reverse transcriptases which partly reverse the flow of genetic information by synthesizing DNA from an RNA template.
2004 G. Gottlieb in C. G. Coll et al. Nature & Nurture v. 94 Genes and genetic activity are part of the developmental-physiological system and do not stand outside of that system as some biologists and others have assumed on the basis of the central dogma.
central eclipse n. a solar eclipse during which the central axis of the umbra intersects with the earth, resulting in a total or annular eclipse.
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1674 J. Josselyn Acct. Two Voy. 50 That the Moons light is adventitious, followes from her invisibilitie in a central Eclipse.
1820 Times 7 Sept. 3/5 The central eclipse will commence at 12 h. 54 min. 40 sec. apparent time at Greenwich.
2009 M. Littmann et al. Totality (ed. 3) ii. 15 Depending on the Moon's distance from the Earth and the Earth's distance from the Sun, this central eclipse will be total or annular.
Central European (a) adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of Central Europe, or the inhabitants of this area (cf. Middle-European adj.); (b) n. an inhabitant or native of Central Europe.
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the world > the earth > named regions of earth > Europe > [adjective] > central Europe
Central European1837
Middle-European1893
mid-European1893
Mittel-European1917
mitteleuropäisch1963
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Europe > [noun] > central
Central European1837
Mittel-European1918
mid-European1924
1837 J. C. Prichard Res. Physical Hist. Mankind (ed. 3) II. xv. 333 Another geographical department..may be distinguished if we take the Pyreno-Alpine line for a southern, and the Scandinavian Alps for a northern limit. This may be termed the Central European region.
1843 Morning Post 11 Jan. The author dwells on the preponderance of Germans amongst the western and central Europeans who have obtained eminent station in Russia.
1931 P. MacDonald Crime Conductor ii. iv. 176 Donna Sigsbee..has tired of the central European charms of Mr. Vanesco.
1967 J. B. Priestley It's Old Country iii. 26 Oldish women with Central European accents.
2004 Washington Post (Nexis) 25 Apr. b5 The Central Europeans have achieved everything they can gain from EU membership.
Central European Time n. [probably after German mitteleuropäische Zeit (1891 or earlier)] the standard time in a zone including most of western and central continental Europe, one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time; abbreviated CET.
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1891 Amer. Reg. 12 Sept. (London ed.) 3/2 At the recent conference of the united steamboat companies it was decided to adopt the Central European time.
1963 Variety 19 June 51/1 Programs were lowered from 20 hours a day to 18 with cuts in Far East, Near East and Central European time.
2014 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 18 Sept. (Sport section) 54 UEFA ruled all matches must begin no later than 6:45pm Central European Time.
central fire adj. and n. Firearms (now rare) (a) adj. = centre-fire adj. 1; (b) n. = centre-fire n. 1.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [adjective] > types of cartridge
central fire1841
centre-fire1855
Greener1856
pin-fire1867
rimfire1867
rim ignition1867
Flobert1890
belted1916
magnum1935
1841 Gardeners' Chron. 28 Aug. 562/1 (advt.) Cooper's Patent Central-fire Guns and Pistols.
1887 ‘20-bore’ Pract. Hints Shooting ii. 32 One great point in favour of central-fires is, that they may be loaded more rapidly than pin-fire guns.
1920 A. L. A. Himmelwright Pistol & Revolver Shooting iii. 43 In all the central-fire cartridges the lubrication of the bullet is inside of the shell.
2013 Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa) 13 Mar. 3 c (advt.) W. Burlington thermometer; marbles; ration stamps; single shot rifle; Central Fire cartridges.
central force n. Physics a force which drives a body towards or away from a fixed point or centre and whose magnitude varies only with distance from that point; (esp.) a centripetal or centrifugal force.
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1704 C. Hayes Treat. Fluxions 292 In like manner, if the Central Force (or Vis Centripeta) act successively in C, D, &c.
1786 J. Q. Adams Let. 7 Apr. in M. A. Hogan et al. Adams Family Corr. (2005) VII. 120 I was obliged..to go in and listen for almost an hour and a half, to projectile motion and the central forces.
1849 Gentleman's Mag. Feb. 178/2 Mathematical demonstration..must always withhold from all but mathematicians a clear insight into the workings of the central forces.
1921 Mentor Oct. 19/2 He [sc. Newton] meditated upon the central force that keeps the planets in their orbits.
2008 D. Morin Introd. Classical Mech. vii. 281 Gravitational and electrostatic forces are central forces... The spring force is also central.
central-heated adj. (of a building, etc.) having central heating; heated by means of central heating; cf. centrally heated adj. at centrally adv. Compounds.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > [adjective] > heated or warmed > heated in specific manner (of building or room)
well-warmed?1506
stoved1802
fire-warmed1825
central-heated1912
1912 W. Archer Play-making xxiii. 405 This is even more true of the ‘central heated’ houses of America than of English houses.
1920 G. Lansbury What I saw in Russia x. 145 Most of the big houses in Moscow are central heated.
2015 Plymouth Herald (Nexis) 21 Feb. Our lodge..is fully central-heated so you won't be cold even in the winter.
central heating n. a system used for heating multiple rooms in a building, typically by means of a network of pipes or ducts through which heated fluid is conveyed from a central source; heating provided by such a system.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > [noun] > heating of building > specific system of
radiant heating1825
central heating1871
baseboard heating1908
pressure jet1910
space heating1930
ondol1935
gas firing1961
storage heating1961
microbore1968
1871 Amer. Chemist May 421/2 For heating a large space, complicated in construction, simultaneously and uniformly, central heating should be most recommended.
1906 Internat. Libr. Technol. 74 §38. 5 For use in connection with central heating plants..the vacuum system of heating is well adapted.
1963 New Scientist 17 Jan. 145/1 Research work is in progress in this department on a range of domestic appliances from a single room heater to a central heating boiler.
2011 Independent on Sunday 7 Aug. 7/1 The particularly snowy conditions we had during the winter made people much more likely to crank up their central heating.
central limit theorem n. [after German zentraler Grenzwertsatz (G. Pólya 1920, in Math. Zeitschr. 8 171)] Statistics a theorem stating that the distribution of the sum of n terms of a given sequence of independent random variables with identical distributions and finite variance approximates a normal distribution with increasing accuracy as n increases.
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1931 Ann. Math. Statistics 2 258 According to the Central Limit Theorem of the theory of probability Pn(x) will converge towards a normal distribution when certain conditions are satisfied.
1958 Canad. Jrnl. Math 10 226 If the Central Limit Theorem holds for such a process, the random variables must be independent and identically distributed.
2002 Biometrika 89 732 Chan & Geyer (1994) have shown that geometric ergodicity along with a moment condition on the function g guarantee a central limit theorem.
central locking n. a system that enables a single person to operate the locks on all of the doors of a vehicle simultaneously; also more fully central locking mechanism, central locking system.
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1963 Times 2 Apr. 15/5 A central locking system can also be supplied as an extra.
1972 Sunday Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wisconsin) 6 Aug. b6/4 (advt.) Automatic transmission, power steering, air conditioning, AM-FM stereo radio. Central locking.
1991 Financial Post (Canada) (Nexis) 18 Feb. iv. 38 Sun roofs, electric windows, central locking mechanisms and other equipment have negated weight savings.
2007 C. Cross Halting State 2008 201 The taxi's accelerated to match the speed limit, and the central locking is engaged.
central nervous system n. Anatomy and Zoology the part of the nervous system which coordinates and integrates neural function, consisting of the brain and spinal cord (in vertebrates) or of ganglia and nerve cords (in invertebrates); cf. peripheral nervous system n. at peripheral adj. and n. Compounds.
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the world > life > the body > nervous system > [noun] > specific
sympathetic1808
central nervous system1826
reflex arc1833
projection system1872
autonomic1908
parasympathetic1916
C.N.S.1932
neuroeffector1937
1826 W. E. Horner Treat. Special & Gen. Anat. II. ix. i. 307 The central nervous system is abundantly supplied with blood vessels.
1915 F. B. Hadley Horse in Health & Dis. 56 Contractility [of muscle] is normally due to a stimulus received from the central nervous system through motor nerves.
2013 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) May 119/1 Modern addictions like technology over-stimulate our central nervous system.
central orbit n. Physics (a) a path followed by a moving body subject to a central force; (b) the path about which a particle oscillates in a circular particle accelerator.
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1836 J. H. Pratt Math. Princ. Mech. Philos. ii. ii. 220 Having demonstrated these Properties of Central Orbits we shall proceed to the determination of the nature of the orbits themselves.
1882 G. M. Minchin Uniplanar Kinematics 63 Central Orbit..an orbit described by a moving point whose resultant acceleration is in every position directed to a fixed point or centre.
1947 Proc. Physical Soc. 59 679 The energy to be added per revolution to maintain the particle on the central orbit is eV0 sin ϕ1. This central orbit is called the stable orbit.
1977 J. R. Nielsen tr. N. Bohr Coll. Wks. IV. i. 159 The 12th [electron] moves outside the others in a central orbit composed of very eccentric loops.
2008 J. P. Chauhan Krishna's Space Dynamics i. 7 The ellipse described by the particle under a central force is a central orbit.
2015 G. Hall tr. U. Amaldi Particle Accelerators ii. 44 Trajectories of particles,..inside the vacuum chamber of a synchrotron, do not remain constantly at the centre of the bending magnets, but oscillate vertically and radially about the central orbit.
central pawn n. Chess a pawn on the king's or queen's file; cf. centre pawn n. at centre n.1 and adj. Compounds 3.
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1803 P. Pratt Stud. Chess II. 74 The black player has succeeded in breaking the white central pawns.
1903 E. E. Cunnington Chess Traps & Stratagems (ed. 2) 17 White should have played..Castles, or Kt × Kt (doubling a central Pawn).
2006 Chess Dec. 60/1 An immense variety of structures, ranging from reversed Sicilians to Hedgehogs and fluid or locked central pawns.
central planning n. Economics a method of economic regulation in which investment, production, and resource allocation are coordinated according to a comprehensive national governmental plan; cf. planned economy n. at planned adj. Compounds.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > planning scheme or system
central planning1922
five-year plan1929
tripartism1961
market testing1991
1922 Econ. World 6 May 630/1 The laborer..automatically goes into those activities which the markets are most willing to pay for, and thus a co-ordinated system of social activity is worked out without central planning.
1984 Guardian 24 Aug. 8/3 Mongolia..follows the Soviet-style central planning system, with emphasis on energy production.
2010 Atlantic Monthly Jan. 82/1 The Agricultural Adjustment Act, which regulated farm production through central planning, was also struck down.
Central Powers n. now historical an alliance of central European powers centred on Germany and Austria-Hungary; spec. (a) the triple alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy between 1882 and 1914 (see triple alliance n. (c) at triple adj. and adv. Compounds 1c); (b) the alliance of powers which fought against Britain and its allies in the First World War (1914–18).
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society > authority > rule or government > politics > international politics or relations > international agreements > [noun] > alliance or confederacy > an alliance > of three states
triple alliance1645
Central Powers1882
1882 Glasgow Herald 23 June 6/3 The views and intentions of the Porte have been known to the Central Powers for days.
1909 A. Nicolson Let. 24 Mar. in H. Nicolson Sir Arthur Nicolson (1930) xi. 305 When we have passed through the present ‘Sturm und Drang’ period, I should not be surprised if we were to find both France and Russia gravitating rapidly towards the Central Powers.
1915 G. Lee Diary 10 Oct. in Home Fires Burning (2006) 135 Bulgaria has decided to join the Central Powers, so we now have her in the lists against us.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XIX. 958/1 The Russian Revolution of March..1917 dismayed the western Allies and delighted the Central Powers.
2007 F. R. Dickinson in H. Afflerbach & D. Stevenson Improbable War? xvii. 306 As Britain joined the Entente and Italy began to drift from the Central Powers, the balance disintegrated into an arms race.
central processing unit n. Computing a component of a computer system that runs programs, performs processing, and controls and coordinates the activity of other components (abbreviated CPU).Modern computers often contain more than one central processing unit, typically integrated onto a single chip.
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society > computing and information technology > hardware > [noun] > central processing unit
programmer1945
central processing unit1956
central processor1957
mainframe1957
CPU1962
1956 Jrnl. Amer. Assoc. Univ. Teachers Insurance 23 54 Magnetic tape is by far the fastest. It can be read into the central processing unit or computer of the system at speeds as high as 56,000 characters per second.
1985 Pract. Computing July 97/2 The traditional multi-user system involves one central processing unit (CPU) being shared between a number of users.
2011 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 1 Aug. a9/5 Increasingly, today's processor chips contain two or more cores, or central processing units.
central processor n. = central processing unit n.
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society > computing and information technology > hardware > [noun] > central processing unit
programmer1945
central processing unit1956
central processor1957
mainframe1957
CPU1962
1957 Proc. Eastern Joint Computer Conf. 27/1 This recording is later automatically sensed by the central processor and appropriate subroutines are called into action.
1983 Times 7 Sept. 10/2 The most striking difference between a Neumann computer and the brain is that the former concentrates its logical operations in a central processor, doing one thing at a time.
2007 P. Hautman Rash ix. 40 Each student is given a few million megs of memory and access to enough of the central processor to perform several trillion operations a second.
central projection n. geometrical projection in which each point on the surface of a sphere is projected onto a plane along the straight line passing through both the given point and the centre of the sphere; = gnomonic projection n. at gnomonic adj. 1b.
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1816 W. A. Cadell On Lines Semidiurnal Arc 2 This perspective view is the same as the central or gnomonic projection of the sphere on the inside of a plane which touches the sphere at the pole of the equator.
1912 MotorBoating Apr. 6/2 In the gnomonic or central projection the eye is supposed to be at the center of the earth; hence all great circles..are seen as straight lines.
2015 J. McCleary Geom. from Differentiable Perspective (ed. 2) vii. 147 It would be most convenient to represent any great circle route as a straight line on a map. This attractive feature is enjoyed uniquely by central projection.
central reservation n. see reservation n. 11.
central reserve n. see reserve n. 5e.
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1684 T. Baker Geom. Key 6 So is it that, which this following Rule exactly performs, which for distinction-sake we may call the Central Rule, or Place.
1813 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia (at cited word) The central rule is founded on this property of the parabola.
central school n. [originally after French école centrale (1793 or earlier)] now historical (a) (in France) a type of school existing between 1795 and 1802 providing secondary education for boys in a wide variety of subjects and serving a whole département (see department n. 4a); (b) (in England and Wales) a school providing post-primary education with a technical or vocational emphasis to students not selected for secondary education in grammar or technical schools.Schools of the sort in sense (b) were established throughout England and Wales by the 1918 Education Act, although a number had been created by the London County Council at an earlier date. Following the Education Act of 1944, they became known as secondary modern schools (see secondary adj. 5g).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > secondary school
high schoolc1417
academyc1550
real school1765
central school1794
secondary school1809
real scholar1822
lyceum1827
Realschule1833
gymnasium1834
continuation-school1837
college1841
lycée1865
middle school1870
high1871
senior school1871
senior high1909
secondary modern school1943
comprehensive1947
secondary1962
community college1967
multilateral1967
sec-mod1968
1794 Morning Chron. 2 Jan. The Committee of Public Instruction read a long speech respecting the central schools.
1795 J. Walker Elem. Geogr. & Nat. & Civil Hist. (ed. 2) iv. 426 In every district, containing 200,000 inhabitants, there is to be one central school. In each..there is to be a professor of mathematics; of experimental physic and chemistry; of natural history; of logic; [etc.].
1808 Ann. Reg. 1806 1007/1 The..colleges, formerly existing in France, were ill supplanted by one hundred and four central schools... The lycees supply the place of the central schools or universities.
1911 Jrnl. Educ. (Univ. of Boston School of Educ.) 20 July 99/1 Under the London County Council there are 650,000 pupils in the public elementary schools, 20,000 in the central schools, and 30,000 in the (fee-paying) secondary schools.
1918 Western Times 19 July 7/4 The Education Bill..provides for the establishment of central schools and other advanced institutes passed under the elementary school system.
1956 J. E. Floud Social Class 15 The central schools..are officially designated ‘secondary modern schools’.
1975 R. R. Palmer School of French Revol. xxxiv. 156 The Central Schools were day schools..and although a small fee was charged for tuition, the law provided..that talented boys might receive a free education at public expense.
2014 Nottingham Post (Nexis) 22 Mar. 33 I didn't get into grammar school; but I hadn't failed it miserably, I scraped into a central school instead.
central section n. a section (section n. 3d) of something which passes through its centre.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > fuselage > middle section
central section1806
waist1942
1806 Jrnl. Nat. Philos., Chem., & Arts Sept. 358 RS is a vertical and central section of a funnel of brass.
1904 J. Walker Analyt. Theory Light xiii. 250 The polarisation-vector of any wave is in the direction of one of the axes of the central section of the ellipsoid of polarisation.
1993 S. K. Ghosh Struct. Geol. viii. 133 The strain ellipse is a central section through the strain ellipsoid.
central standard time n. (frequently with capital initials) (a) North American the standard time in a zone including most of Mexico and central parts of the United States and Canada, based on the mean solar time at longitude 90° W, six hours behind Greenwich Mean Time; abbreviated CST; (b) Australian = Australian Central Standard Time n. at Australian n. and adj. Additions.
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1883 Washington Post 9 Nov. 2/7 The four standards of time will be known as the ‘Eastern Standard Time’, ‘Central Standard Time’, ‘Mountain Standard Time’ and ‘Pacific Standard Time’.
1938 Northern Standard (Darwin) 21 June 530/2 The K.N.I.L.M. Super Lockheed Electra airliner..arrived in Darwin 6 p.m. (central standard time).
1989 Sky & Telescope Dec. 625/3 The solstice occurs at 3:22 p.m. Central standard time.
1999 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 27 May Central Standard Time creates an administrative headache for many businesses in SA, particularly..when so many firms now have head offices or branch offices in Melbourne and Sydney.
2014 Facts (Clute, Texas) 23 May 7 b/3 A joint public hearing will be held on Thursday, the 12th day of June 2014, at 7:30 o'clock p.m., central standard time.
Central State n. chiefly U.S. (a nickname for) the state of Kansas.
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1881 Illustr. Sketch Bk. Riley County, Kansas 7/1 Kansas—the ‘Central State’ of the Union.
1888 Harper's Mag. June 39/1 The Central State. Its physical features and resources.
1918 M. V. O' Shea et al. World Bk. IV. 3203/1 It is also known.., in reference to its position, as the Central State.
2013 B. Hoena Kansas (2014) 4 Kansas sits in the middle of the contiguous United States. It is sometimes called the Central State or Midway State.
central tendency n. Statistics a value understood as located at the centre (variously interpreted) of a probability distribution, as the mean, median, mode, etc.; a set of data associated with this value.Often used in the social sciences.
ΚΠ
1904 E. L. Thorndike Introd. Theory Mental & Social Measurem. x. 138 The less the variability amongst the individual samples, the less will be the divergence..from the true measure of the central tendency.
1915 Bull. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics No. 173. 20 The concentration about the central tendency is greater in the actual than in the ‘normal’ distribution.
1962 Economica 29 35 On either side of this central tendency, the distribution appears to tail off fairly symmetrically.
2014 Independent (Nexis) 23 June (Business section) 57 The table shows the central tendency of the economic projections.., which excludes the three highest and three lowest projections for each variable in each year.
central time n. (a) North American = central standard time n. (a); (b) Australian= Australian Central Standard Time n. at Australian n. and adj. Additions.
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1883 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 12 Apr. Roads..between those points and Kansas City..shall run by the 19th meridian or Central time.
1910 R. S. Tarr & F. M. McMurry New Geogr. II. ii. ii. 205/1 After a while he comes to a place where the time is changed one full hour; then he sets his watch back an hour so as to have the Central Time.
1986 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 29 Nov. The Pope arrives at Alice Springs at 3.35 p.m. central time and leaves for Adelaide at 6.05 p.m.
2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 28 Jan. viii. 6/4 Indiana is hard to pin down because every hamlet seems to have a local option, whether to be on Eastern or Central time.
central vacuum n. chiefly North American (more fully central vacuum cleaning system, central vacuum system) a system whereby the suction power required for vacuum cleaning throughout a building is supplied from a single static unit, typically via ducts or inlets placed in each room.
ΚΠ
1922 Archit. Forum Sept. 139/1 A central vacuum cleaning system..is given very careful consideration by architects and engineers in planning all types of buildings.
1964 Chicago Daily Defender 8 Sept. 20/6 (advt.) Central vacuum system, 2 family rooms (one with bar).
1990 Observer 21 Apr. 52 (advt.) Introducing Univac, a central vacuum so advanced it will change your life.
2005 E. Morrow et al. Put your House on Diet iv. 63 If you're tired of lugging a vacuum cleaner around your house, a central vacuum system may be what you need.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11649
n.21889
adj.1623