Origin and history of centime

chosen 1786 as name for U.S. 10-cent coin (originally of silver), from dime "a tenth, tithe" (late 14c.), from Old French disme (Modern French dîme) "a tenth part" and directly from Medieval Latin decima, from Latin decima (pars) "tenth (part)," from decem "ten" (from PIE root *dekm- "ten").

The verb meaning "to inform" (on someone) is from the 1960s, from the then-cost of a pay-phone call. Alliterative phrase a dime a dozen "almost worthless" is recorded by 1930 (as an actual price, for eggs, etc., by 1861). Phrase stop on a dime attested by 1927 (a dime being the physically smallest unit of U.S. currency); turn on a dime is by 1913. Dime store "retail outlet selling everything for (more or less) 10 cents" is by 1928.

word-forming element meaning "one hundred" or "one hundredth part," used in English from c. 1800, from the French metric system, from Latin centi-, combining form of centum "one hundred" (see hundred).

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "ten."

It might form all or part of: cent; centenarian; centenary; centi-; centime; centurion; century; centennial; cinquecento; dean; deca-; decade; decagon; Decalogue; Decameron; decapod; decathlon; December; decennial; deci-; decile; decimal; decimate; decimation; decuple; decussate; denarius; denier (n.) "French coin;" dicker; dime; dinar; doyen; dozen; duodecimal; duodecimo; eighteen; fifteen; fourteen; hecatomb; hendeca-; hundred; icosahedron; nineteen; nonagenarian; octogenarian; Pentecost; percent; quattrocento; Septuagint; sexagenarian; seventeen; sixteen; ten; tenth; thirteen; thousand; tithe; -ty (1).

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit dasa, Avestan dasa, Armenian tasn, Greek deka, Latin decem (source of Spanish diez, French dix), Old Church Slavonic deseti, Lithuanian dešimt, Old Irish deich, Breton dek, Welsh deg, Albanian djetu, Old English ten, Old High German zehan, Gothic taihun "ten."