centigrade

cen·ti·grade   (sěn'tĭ-grād')    adj.   Abbr. C or cent. Celsius. See Table at measurement. [French : centi-, centi- + grade, degree (from Italian grado, rank, degree, from Latin gradus, step; see ghredh- in Indo-European roots).]

Main Entry: Cel·sius
Pronunciation: 'sel-sE-&s, -sh&s
Function: adjective
: relating to or having a scale for measuring temperature on whichthe interval between the triple point and the boiling point of water is divided into 99.99 degrees with 0.01° being the triple point and 100.00° the boiling point —abbreviation C;—compare CENTIGRADE
Celsius, Anders (1701–1744), Swedish astronomer. Celsius's majorcontribution was his thermometer scale. Although not the first thermometer with a 100-degree scale, his scale, described in 1742, used the freezing and boiling points of water as its two fixed points,with 0° for the boiling point and 100° for the freezing point. Five years later the system was reversed so that 0° represented the freezing point and 100° represented the boiling pointand then it gradually gained acceptance. Since about 1800 Celsius has been used as an adjective to designate a thermometer based on the revised scale and more recently to indicate the scaleitself.

Celsius Cel·si·us (sěl'sē-əs, -shəs)
adj.
Abbr. C
Of or relating to a temperature scale that registers the freezing point of water as 0° and the boiling point as 100° under normal atmospheric pressure.

Celsius, Anders 1701-1744.   Swedish astronomer who invented the centigrade thermometer in 1742.