Definition of "century"

He stood transfixed before the unaccustomed view of London at night time, a vast panorama which reminded him […] of some wood engravings far off and magical, in a printshop in his childhood. They dated from the previous century and were coarsely printed on tinted paper, with tinsel outlining the design.

1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess‎

Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.

2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845

'tis the subject of whole books: I might cite a century of authors pro and con.

1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, partition II, section 4, member 2, subsection i

Hamilton reached his century 14 years after securing his maiden pole in the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007, which he went on to win to take the first step on the road to becoming Formula One's most successful driver.

2021 May 8, “'It's like my first' - history-maker Hamilton celebrates century of poles”, in France 24‎