Etymo

centipede

A many-legged arthropod.

Played on · Day 48 · word 1 of 5

A hundred-footed name

How centipede reached English

oldest first

Simplified path. The puzzle showed the main steps; the full route is being checked.

  • centi-‘hundred’
  • ped-‘foot’

combined

  1. Latin

    centipeda

    ‘A centipede’

    into English

  2. English

    centipede

    ‘A many-legged arthropod’

The story of centipede

Latin centipeda combines the hundred element centi- with the foot element ped-/pes.

The question asks what the name’s pieces mean, not for an exact anatomical leg count.

Sources

Also built on Latin centi-

  • centipede, this word
  • centigrade

The name turns an impression of many feet into a number.

More words from 23 October 2026

  1. cardamomA fragrant spice obtained from seed capsules.
  2. garbleTo distort a message or make it confused.
  3. atomA particle of a chemical element.
  4. guitarA stringed instrument with a fretted neck.

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