hundred
The number 100; ten tens.
Etymology
From Old English hundred, from Proto-Germanic *hundą, from PIE *ḱm̥tóm "hundred," derived from *déḱm̥t "ten" with a collective suffix — literally "a great ten" or "a group of tens." This was the largest round number in the PIE counting system.
The Journey: *ḱm̥tóm → hundred
*ḱm̥tóm
*hundą
hundred
hundred
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *ḱm̥tóm. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | hekatón |
| Latin | centum |
| Welsh | cant |
| Avestan | satəm |
| Russian | sto |
| Sanskrit | śatám |
| Old Irish | cét |
| Lithuanian | šim̃tas |
Did You Know?
The word "hundred" splits Indo-European into two groups: "centum" languages (Latin centum, keeping the k-sound) and "satem" languages (Sanskrit śatám, shifting to s-). This centum-satem divide was one of the earliest classifications of IE languages.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱm̥tóm. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.