Sep 10, 2004 18:47
20 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

centrum

English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
I am working on something like business name creation and would like to know to what extent the word CENTRUM with the same meaning as CENTER for English speaking audience, I mean can it be used with the same general meaning (like in research center, business center, financial center, etc.)
I began to doubt in its meaning after I found it is often explained/translated as medical/biological/etc. term.

Thank you in advance

Responses

+5
5 mins
Selected

Not an English word

Centrum is not an English word (not in Oxford dictionary) so cannot be used interchangeably with centre. However, it would be readily understood as having a similar meaning to "centre", and therefore gets used in business & trade names, perhaps ones that are attempting to create an international flavour.
Peer comment(s):

agree Marie Andersson (Allen)
5 mins
agree Richard Benham : ...except as a technical term. See David's answer. In normal parlance, it is, exactly as you say, not real English.
12 mins
agree Kpy : Richard has put it perfectly. It is not an English word.
1 hr
agree Rajan Chopra
17 hrs
agree airmailrpl : -
8 days
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you."
+2
5 mins

no

centrum
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. cen·trums or cen·tra (-tr)
The major part of a vertebra, exclusive of the bases of the neural arch.
ETYMOLOGY: Latin, center. See center.

Webster's Unabridged gives a couple of other special meanings, but it isn't a synonym of center.
Peer comment(s):

agree Richard Benham : Latinized version of Greek "kentron"="centre". Common origin with "centre", of course, but, as you say, only appropriate in certain specialized senses.
14 mins
agree airmailrpl : -
8 days
Something went wrong...
+2
5 mins

center/centre

To me, as a US-English speaker, "Centrum" means only one thing: A brand of multi-vitamin. In the convention center site below, it's combined with a word for center (centre, UK English), but I believe that may be to appeal to German and/or Dutch-speaking conventioneers.

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Note added at 3 hrs 47 mins (2004-09-10 22:35:34 GMT)
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Hi all - I\'m curious about the KudoZ protocols here... My instinct was to write \"Not an English word\" or similar in the \"term\" box as well, but I thought we were meant to propose terms, not answer questions. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!
Peer comment(s):

agree Kurt Porter : artifical, and I agree with the German/Dutch...
55 mins
agree airmailrpl : KudoZ protocols says you can"t say 'see below' but you can answer questions
8 days
Thanks, airmail!
Something went wrong...
+1
4 hrs

nexus/axis/forum/hub/point/center/centre

Any of these, but not centrum, which as others have pointed out has no widely understood meaning in English and to many in the States denotes a brand of multivitamin.
Peer comment(s):

agree airmailrpl : -
8 days
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-2
11 hrs

Is perfectly right

We must remember that this is a name for a business. Centrum is "center" in German. In English, there is this distinction between "center" and "centre" to say that the former is the center of a circle and the later is a place of congregation or what ever. There are no such parallels in other European languages, to my knowledge, but I am willing to be corrected.

Coming back to naming a business: Business names should be able to register a lasting memory on people. This is achieved by making them extra-ordinary.

CENTRUM fits this bill because it not only means 'center' in German; it also draws reference from the Roman Theatres.

Hope this helps :-))
Peer comment(s):

disagree John Bowden : The only difference between "center" and "centre" is that the former is US spelling and the latter UK.
2 days 10 hrs
disagree airmailrpl : CENTRUM is trade marked and registered so the asker could not use it
8 days
Something went wrong...
+2
15 hrs

Centrum is a brand name for Multivitamins

Centrum®: Wyeth Consumer Healthcare
The official website of Centrum®. Centrum Multivitamins provide a foundation for any nutrition regimen by covering your core vitamin and mineral needs. ...
www.centrum.com/
Peer comment(s):

agree senin
11 hrs
It is trade marked and registered so the asker could not use it anyway
agree Yolanda Broad : That's what immediately springs to mind for me, too,
2 days 15 hrs
the asker could not use it anyway
Something went wrong...
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