centavo
1 of 2noun (1)
cen·ta·vo sen-ˈtä-(ˌ)vō 
plural centavos
: a monetary subunit of the boliviano, córdoba, lempira, peso (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Mexico), quetzal, and sucre see boliviano, córdoba, lempira, peso, quetzal at Money Table
centavo
2 of 2noun (2)
cen·ta·vo sen-ˈtä-(ˌ)vü
-(ˌ)vō
plural centavos
1
: a former monetary unit equal to ¹/₁₀₀ Portuguese escudo
2
: a monetary subunit of the escudo, metical, and real see escudo, metical at Money Table
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Spanish, literally, hundredth, from ciento hundred, from Latin centum
Noun (2)
Portuguese, from Spanish
First Known Use
Noun (1)
1857, in the meaning defined above
Noun (2)
1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1