c meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

c

characteralso spelled C

/k/ · /s/

Etymology Old English lower case letter c, from 7th century replacement by Latin lower case c of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚳ (c, “cen”).

Letter, Lowercase The third letter of the English alphabet, called cee and written in the Latin script.

c

num

Etymology Old English lower case letter c, from 7th century replacement by Latin lower case c of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚳ (c, “cen”).

Lowercase, Number The third numeral symbol of the English alphabet, called cee and written in the Latin script.

Derived terms: abecedism, a-c, c-ANCA, c-command, c-decay, c-flat, c flat, c-hole, c-machine, c note, c-selection, c sharp, c-sharp, c-store, ctrl-c, c u l8r, c-word, hard c, small-c conservative, soft c

C

symbol

/ks/ · /ʃ/

A standard size of dry cell battery between A and D.

C

noun

10 senses

1One hundred dollars; a c-note.
2The first note in the C chromatic and major scales.
3An academic grade better than a D and worse than a B.
4Canonical Decomposition, followed by Canonical Composition
5Cocaine.
6Cunt.
7Abbreviation of consonant.
8Abbreviation of Conservative.
9Abbreviation of century.
10Abbreviation of center.

US, Slang One hundred dollars; a c-note.

I keep on fairbanking the chump until he is between a poop and a sweat. The score is half a C and he's broke.1935, Henry Louis Mencken, George Jean Nathan, The American Mercury, volume 35, page 227:
Five C's. Straight in-and-out job. Nothing fancy.1980, Paul Schrader, American Gigolo, spoken by Leon (Bill Duke):

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music The first note in the C chromatic and major scales.

Education An academic grade better than a D and worse than a B.

Dr. Cohen himself got a C in his first formal course in geography, during a summer program at Harvard after he graduated from high school. But he went on to earn three degrees and become the executive director of the Association of American Geographers and a leading expert in political and human geography — a specialty field that explores the impact of natural and arbitrary borders, territory, resources and populations on a nation’s cultural, social and economic development, as well as its relations with other countries.2021 June 18, Sam Roberts, “Saul B. Cohen, Who Helped Raise CUNY Standards, Dies at 95”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Jun 2021:

Canonical Decomposition, followed by Canonical Composition

Slang Cocaine.

Where did you secure the C? My own supply is utterly depleted.1945, William Burroughs, letter, 24 Jul 1945

Slang, Vulgar Cunt.

1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure He turned me on my stomach & slowly gently put his cock in my ass. I was so happy! But I was having a hard time completely relaxing & so he withdrew & went in my C.

Abbreviation Abbreviation of consonant.

The standard syllable structure of Lang Belta is CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant), but there are also syllables without one or both of these consonants. Therefore, other possible structures are: initial V, initial CV, and VC. For example, V ereluf ‘air’, VC unte ‘and’, CV xalte ‘to stay’, and CVC ereluf ‘air’.2021 October 5, Gessica Puccini, “Lang Belta: the Belter language from SYFY/Amazon’s The Expanse”, in Lingoblog:

Government, Politics UK, Abbreviation, In election results Abbreviation of Conservative.

Abbreviation Abbreviation of century.

Symbolism was a 19C literary and artistic movement.
Contains an interesting collection of English and European paintings from the 14th to 20th-Cs, in particular the Lycett Green collection of old masters.1979, The Automobile Association, AA Town Plans, London: Hutchinson Publishing Group Ltd., →ISBN, page 222, column 1:

1 more example

Thanks, @janecaro, for showing that public profiles can be used for good & that social media belongs in a 21stC democracy.2013, Yvette Vignando, edited by Jane Caro, Destroying the Joint: Why Women Have to Change the World, St Lucia, Qld.: University of Queensland Press, →ISBN, page 127:

Ball games, Basketball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Netball, Sports Abbreviation Abbreviation of center.

Derived terms: Area C, C-19, C-DNA, C-drama, C-grade, C-level, C-list, C-low, cluster C personality disorder, C major, C-man, C melody, C minor, C of W, C-suiter, C-type conflict, C wire, K of C, Mode C, NFC, Part C state, type C
Related terms: D, KC, KD, NF

C

adj

Singapore /siː(˦)/

Etymology Uncertain. Either from Hainanese 鮮 /鲜 (si²³, “fresh”), short for 鮮奶 (“fresh milk”), Malay cair (“melted”) referring to evaporated milk, or an abbreviation of Carnation, a canned milk brand, and historically, one of the most widespread forms of evaporated milk in Singapore.

Malaysia, Singapore, Colloquial With sugar and evaporated milk added.

Used as a modifier after kopi (“coffee”) or teh (“tea”)

Derived terms: kopi, teh
Related terms: di lo, gah dai, gau, kosong, O, peng, po, siew dai

c

noun

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music The middle tone in either one of the sets of seven white keys on a keyboard or a set of seven strings on a stringed instrument.

C

character

Letter, Uppercase The third letter of the English alphabet, called cee and written in the Latin script.

Boxer could not get beyond the letter D. He would trace out A, B, C, D, in the dust with his great hoof […]1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

Related terms: 53 terms
letter, A, a, B, b, C, c, D, d, E, e, F, f, G, g, H, h, I, i, J, j, K, k, L, l, M, m, N, n, O, o, P, p, Q, q, R, r, S, s, T, t, U, u, V, v, W, w, X, x, Y, y, Z, z

C

num

Uppercase, Number The third numeral symbol of the English alphabet, called cee and written in the Latin script.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for c and C.