Help me understand the use and measure of ‘century/centuries’.

425 views

This might be a stupid question, but for that I’ve also been afraid to ask. But, I’ve been confused most of the time when people say “x-th century”. Why is the period 1900-1999 called the 20th century and not 19th century?

>In popular perception and practice, centuries are structured by grouping years based on sharing the ‘hundreds’ digit(s). In this model, the n-th century starts with the year that ends in “00” and ends with the year ending in “99”; for example, the years 1900 to 1999, in popular culture, constitute the 20th century. *(Wikipedia)*

What does it mean ‘in popular culture’? Why couldn’t, let’s say, the 19th century constitutes years within 1900-1999 and not the years before?

In: 1

12 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

A baby’s first year alive ends with their first birthday.

The day after their first birthday is part of their second year.

You are viewing 1 out of 12 answers, click here to view all answers.