centavo

/sɛnˈtɑvoʊ/

Other forms: centavos

One centavo, 1/100th of certain currencies, probably won't buy you very much at all, no matter whether it's in quetzales, pesos, bolivianos, or córdobas.

Much like the cent is 1/100th of a dollar or Euro, a centavo is 1/100th of the basic currency in many countries, including but not limited to Argentina, the Philippines, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Columbia, and Brazil. It comes from a Spanish and Portuguese word meaning "one-hundredth," just as cent comes from the Latin word for "hundred." Most countries that use a centavo either have or used to have a lot of Spanish or Portuguese speakers in them.

Definitions of centavo

1. noun

   a current or former fractional monetary unit of several countries, including El Salvador, Sao Tome, Principe, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, and Portugal
   type of:

   fractional monetary unit, subunit

   a monetary unit that is valued at a fraction (usually one hundredth) of the basic monetary unit
2. noun

   a coin worth one-hundredth of the value of the basic unit