cen·tum (k n t m)adj. Designating those Indo-European languages, including the Italic, Hellenic, Celtic and Germanic subfamilies, that merged the palatal velar stops with the plain velars k, g, gh and maintained a distinction between them and the labiovelars kw, gw, gwh. [Latin, hundred (a word whose initial sound in classical Latin illustrates the preservation of the Indo-European palatal velar as a velar k); see dek  in Indo-European roots.] |
centum [ˈsɛntəm]
adj
(Linguistics) denoting or belonging to the Indo-European languages in which original velar stops (k) were not palatalized, namely languages of the Hellenic, Italic, Celtic, Germanic, Anatolian, and Tocharian branches Compare satem
[Latin: hundred, chosen because the c represents the Indo-European k]
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