centurion
n. countablen. a professional officer in the ancient Roman army who was in charge of about 100 soldiers.
n. a professional officer in the Roman army, typically commanding a century of approximately eighty to one hundred legionaries.
The centurion led his men into the battle.
Archaeologists discovered a bronze helmet that likely belonged to a Roman centurion stationed at the border.
Historical accounts suggest that the centurion was the backbone of the Roman legion, responsible for both the tactical execution of maneuvers and the strict discipline of the rank-and-file soldiers.
From Middle English centurioun, from Latin centuriō, centuriōnis (“a commander of a hundred, centurion”), from Latin centum (“a hundred”). Displaced native English hundreder and hundredman, from Middle English hundredman, from Old English hundredmann (“centurion”).