Zentner

Zentner is a historic unit of mass used in German-speaking regions and parts of Central Europe. It denotes a quantity equal to 100 Pfund, and in many areas it is equated with about 50 kilograms, though exact values varied by time and locality because Pfund itself was not uniform. In practice, Zentner was used in trade, agriculture, and taxation for larger consignments of commodities such as grain, flour, and livestock feeds.

With the adoption of the metric system in the 19th and 20th centuries, official metrology abandoned Zentner as a standard unit. Nevertheless, the term persists in rural and agricultural contexts and in older contracts, sometimes still expressed as Zentner for familiarity or tradition.

Etymology: the word Zentner derives from Centner, a Germanic form of the Latin centum meaning hundred, reflecting its original meaning as a hundred-pound unit. The unit has cognates in several neighboring languages, including centner and related forms used in parts of Eastern and Central Europe.

Zentner is also a German surname. As a family name, it occurs in Germany and in diaspora communities, without implying a specific occupation or region beyond its Germanic origin.