/sen tah"voh/ ; Sp. /sen tah"vaw/ , n. , pl. centavos /-vohz/ ; Sp. /-vaws/ .
the 100th part of the monetary units of various nations, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, and Portugal.
[ 1880-85; cent- 100 (see CENT) + -avo -avum as in octavum eighth; see OCTAVO ]