Centurion

(in the ancient Roman army) the commander of a century.
(initial capital letter) Military. any one of various British battle tanks in service from 1945 to 1967.
Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

noun
the officer commanding a Roman century
n.

late 13c., from Latin centurionem (nominative centurio), “Roman army officer, head of a centuria” (a group of one hundred); see century.

noun

A dependable defender; loyal soldier:Adm William Crowe, the Democrats’ favorite centurion

[1990s+; the Roman officer who commanded 100 legionaries]

a Roman officer in command of a hundred men (Mark 15:39, 44, 45). Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, was a centurion (Acts 10:1, 22). Other centurions are mentioned in Matt. 8:5, 8, 13; Luke 7:2, 6; Acts 21:32; 22:25, 26; 23:17, 23; 24:23; 27:1, 6, 11, 31, 43; 28:16. A centurion watched the crucifixion of our Lord (Matt. 27:54; Luke 23:47), and when he saw the wonders attending it, exclaimed, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” “The centurions mentioned in the New Testament are uniformly spoken of in terms of praise, whether in the Gospels or in the Acts. It is interesting to compare this with the statement of Polybius (vi. 24), that the centurions were chosen by merit, and so were men remarkable not so much for their daring courage as for their deliberation, constancy, and strength of mind.”, Dr. Maclear’s N. T. Hist.