century

century
century
1. The start of a new millennium makes everyone aware of the difficulty of reckoning when a century (let alone a millennium) truly begins and ends. In arithmetical terms, the 21st century should be reckoned as having begun on 1 January 2001, since 2000 was strictly the last year of the 20th century (and 2nd millennium). But who waited until the end of the year 2000 before celebrating the millennium? In popular usage, a new century begins on 1 Jan. of the year ending in -00, and this is unlikely to change however loudly purists may protest.
2. Nonetheless, in formal reckoning each century (the 5th, the 16th, etc.) contains one year beginning with the number that names it, and this is the last (or, in the case of bc (or bce) dates, the first), and 99 years beginning with a number that is lower by one, so that 763, 1111, 1300, and 1990, belong to the 8th, 12th, 13th, and 20th centuries respectively.

Modern English usage. 2014.

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