Center - what is it? It would seem that this question is purely rhetorical. After all, everyone understands that it is something that is in the most important place, at the main point on which attention is focused. Nevertheless, this is such a word, upon close examination of which many nuances are revealed. That is what we are going to do now, having studied all the intricacies of what "center" means.
Multiple Shades
Let's consider what meanings of "center" are offered in explanatory dictionaries. We will also give examples of usage corresponding to each of them.
The middle, most important part or point of something. Example: “The capital of France is traditionally divided into 20 administrative districts. The first nine of them, perhaps, can be safely considered as the center of Paris. Although, of course, for this city the center is a loose concept. After all, there are at least three candidates for the title of the main square.”
- In physics and geometry, the center is the point that is locatedat the same distance from the edges of the figure or body. Or it may lie at the intersection of the principal axes. Example: “In the center of the Earth is the deepest of all parts of the planet, which is called the core, or the geosphere, located under the mantle. It is assumed that it consists of an iron-nickel alloy, which has impurities of other elements.”
- This word can also be used figuratively. In this case, it is associated with the main place in which the most important resources of the country, infrastructure, social group are concentrated. Example: “In ancient times, the center of gravity of civilization moved from the banks of the Nile, Euphrates and Tigris to ancient Greece and Rome, then it moved to Central Europe, and today, according to Western analysts, it is located in North America.”
If someone thinks that the meanings of the word "center" end here, then he is deeply mistaken. Dictionaries are ready to give us a few more options. Consider them.
In the organization and in the body
It turns out that the center can be not only in the body and figure, it is also in the organization, and in the living organism. Let's take a closer look at these variants of the meanings of the linguistic object we are studying.
The highest body in any community that performs leadership functions in it. Example: “The principle of operation of this combat organization was that it received general directives concerning the setting of the time for the start and suspension of hostilities, as well as the circle of persons against whom they were directed, from the party, through its center. In all other matters, she had completeindependence and the widest powers.”
- An important place in the human or animal body that is "responsible" for collecting information and processing it. Example: “The nerve center is a complex of nerve cells that regulate one or another function of the body. These cells can be located compactly, concentrating in one anatomical structure, or they can accumulate in groups of neurons involved in the regulation of one function, but located in different parts of the central nervous system.”
- The word "center" refers to an organization whose mission is to serve the interests of several subjects. It concentrates information about the information flows of these subjects. Example: “It was written in the announcement that a legal center operating in the field of corporate law offers its services to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.”
But that's not all the meanings of the word "center". As explanatory dictionaries suggest, it is also related to political vocabulary and technical terminology. It seems that it will be interesting to get acquainted with them.
In politics
In the lexicon of politicians and analysts, the center is the name of the intermediate parties, whose positions are somewhere in the middle - between the views of the right and left parties. Example: During the time of the German Empire, as well as the Weimar Republic, one of the most influential partieswas the Catholic Center Party, which was the spokesman for the interests of the Catholic part of the German population.”
Technical
In engineering, the center is the name of a machine part with a tapered end that serves to support workpieces during their processing. Example: “The master strictly warned the students to be careful not to let the blanks jump off the center, otherwise they would be damaged.”
It is also called a universal machine that combines the functions of several machines that are simpler. Example: “The need to avoid large losses has led to the creation of multi-operation machines, including the functions of numerical control and automatic tool change. They are called machining centers.”
Origin of the word
In conclusion of the study of the many meanings of the word "center" let's turn to its etymology. To do this, let's look at the dictionary of Max Fasmer. It says that the origin of this lexeme dates back to time immemorial, since it originates in the Proto-Indo-European language.
Supposedly, there was a word kent, meaning "stab". Further, its transformation in the form of κέντρον and in the meaning of "the edge of a compass, sting, goad" is found in ancient Greek. Then it passes into Latin under the guise of centrum and then into German, where it is written as Zentrum. From there, in the 17th century, it was borrowed by Russian.
