centigrade

You've probably heard the weather reported in "degrees centigrade"—it's an older name for the Celsius temperature scale! Interestingly, in 1742, Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius originally proposed a scale where 0 degrees marked the boiling point of water and 100 degrees marked the freezing point. It was soon reversed to the system we use today: 0°C is freezing and 100°C is boiling (at sea level). While Fahrenheit remains common in the United States, most of the world uses Celsius (sometimes still called centigrade) for everyday temperature measurements, from checking a forecast to following cooking instructions and conducting scientific experiments. So, next time you hear about a scorching 35°C day, remember that's roughly 95°F!

"Centigrade" refers to a scale used to measure temperature, and it is essentially synonymous with the Celsius scale. The name itself is derived from the Latin words centum (meaning hundred) and gradus (meaning step), highlighting its logical design: a scale divided into 100 equal "steps" or degrees between the freezing and boiling points of water.

Historically, many different temperature scales existed. For instance, Gabriel Fahrenheit developed his scale based on the coldest temperature he could achieve using a mixture of ice, water, and salt. However, the centigrade scale gained global popularity because it is based on the more convenient and universally accessible properties of pure water—a substance readily available almost everywhere.

While you might hear "centigrade" used interchangeably with "Celsius," there is a slight difference in emphasis. "Centigrade" describes the idea of dividing the span between water’s freezing and boiling points into one hundred steps, while "Celsius" is the official name of the scale (honoring Anders Celsius). In 1948, the international scientific community adopted the term "degree Celsius" in part to avoid confusion with "centigrade" being used for other measurements (such as a centesimal "grade" in angle measurement), yet the older term still pops up in casual speech. Today, whether you are checking the weather, baking a cake, or monitoring climate change, Celsius—still sometimes called centigrade—remains a fundamental way to quantify how hot or cold something is.