center

Home > ... > Social Sciences and the Law > Political Science and Government > Political Science: Terms and Concepts > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side The Oxford Pocket Dictionary ... The Oxford Companion to the ... The Columbia Encyclopedia, ...

center

center in politics, a party following a middle course. The term was first used in France in 1789, when the moderates of the National Assembly sat in the center of the hall. It can refer to a separate party in a political system, e.g., the Catholic Center party of imperial and Weimar Germany, or to the middle group of a party consisting of several ideological factions.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-center" title="Facts and information about center">center</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"center." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"center." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (December 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-center.html

"center." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-center.html

Learn more about citation styles

Center Chair

The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States | 2005 | | Â© The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Center Chair In recent journalistic usage “center chair” refers to the chief justice of the United States, who occupies the center seat of the bench of the Supreme Court.

William M. Wiecek

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O184-CenterChair" title="Facts and information about center">center</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

KERMIT L. HALL. "Center Chair." The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford University Press. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

KERMIT L. HALL. "Center Chair." The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford University Press. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (December 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O184-CenterChair.html

KERMIT L. HALL. "Center Chair." The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford University Press. 2005. Retrieved December 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O184-CenterChair.html

Learn more about citation styles

center

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

cen·ter / ˈsentər/ (Brit. cen·tre) • n. 1. the middle point of a circle or sphere, equidistant from every point on the circumference or surface. ∎ a point or part that is equally distant from all sides, ends, or surfaces of something; the middle: the center of the ceiling. ∎ a pivot or axis of rotation: the galactic rotation of the solar system around the galactic center. ∎ a political party or group holding moderate opinions. ∎ Sports the middle player in a line or group in many games: Terry played center on the basketball team. ∎ Baseball short for center field. ∎ a core, such as the filling in a piece of chocolate: truffles with liqueur centers. ∎ a conical adjustable support for a workpiece in a lathe or similar machine. 2. a place or group of buildings where a specified activity is concentrated: a center for medical research. ∎ a point at which an activity or quality is at its most intense and from which it spreads: the city was a center of discontent. ∎ the point on which an activity or process is focused: two issues at the center of the health-care debate. ∎ the most important place in the respect specified: Geneva was then the center of the international world. • v. 1. [intr.] (center around/on) have (something) as a major concern or theme: the case centers around the couple's children. ∎ [tr.] (center something around/on) cause an argument or discussion to focus on (a specified issue): he is centering his discussion on an analysis of patterns of mortality. ∎ (be centered in) (of an activity) occur mainly in or around (a specified place). 2. [tr.] place in the middle: to center the needle, turn the knob. ∎ Football pass the ball back from the ground to another player to begin a down; snap. PHRASES: the center of attention a person or thing that draws general attention.DERIVATIVES: cen·ter·most / -ˌmōst/ adj.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O999-center" title="Facts and information about center">center</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"center." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"center." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (December 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-center.html

"center." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-center.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses

Rate these entries|See all related entries

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Integrity Commemorates Second Year of Company Growth.(Company overview) Business Wire; 12/3/2009
	POZEN to Host Investor and Analyst Event on December 8, 2009. Business Wire; 12/3/2009
	NovaDigm Therapeutics Appoints Vaccine Industry Leader R. Gordon Douglas, Jr., as Chairman of the Board. Business Wire; 12/3/2009

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	JOB CREATION EFFORTS:RAY LEACH Transcript from: Congressional Testimony; 12/9/2009; 700+ words ; ...which encompasses over 4 million residentsand has been a major center for manufacturing over the last six generations.Going back...including Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Lorainand Canton were centers for innovative entrepreneurs who created globallycompetitive...
	DRINKING WATER:MARY A. FOX, PHD, MPH Transcript from: Congressional Testimony; 12/10/2009; 700+ words ; ...NRC) report ``Managing Coal CombustionResidues in Mines``. The health effects information referencedhere comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,and the Environmental Protection Agency.In current practice coal combustion waste may...
	DRINKING WATER:KEN LADWIG Transcript from: Congressional Testimony; 12/10/2009; 700+ words ; ...power industry. EPRI bringstogether scientists and engineers, along with experts from academia, industryand other research centers, to address the major issues facing the electricsector. EPRI appreciates the opportunity to provide testimony to the HouseSubcommittee...
	DERIVATIVES AND SYSTEMIC RISK:BLYTHE MASTERS Transcript from: Congressional Testimony; 12/2/2009; 700+ words ; ...known; as Chairman Gensler testified, these are the fifteen totwenty large, complex financial institutions that are at the center oftoday`s global derivatives marketplace. Major swap participants, on theother hand, are creatures of legislative definition...
	SENATOR COLLINS CALLS TSA WEB POSTING OF AIRPORT SECURITY PROCEDURES ``SHOCKING`` AND ``RECKLESS`` Transcript from: Capitol Hill Press Releases; 12/8/2009; 655 words ; ...AssistantSecretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and TimothyJ. Healy; Director, Terrorist Screening Center; Federal Bureau of Investigation;U.S. Department of Justice. Although the TSA aviation security manual isdated May 28...
	LIEBERMAN STATEMENT ON HEALTH CARE NEGOTIATIONS Transcript from: Capitol Hill Press Releases; 12/9/2009; 332 words ; ...toanalyzing the details of the plan and reviewing analysis from the CongressionalBudget Office and the Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicareand Medicaid." NO PORTION OF THIS TRANSCRIPTION MAY BE COPIED, SOLD OR RETRANSMITTED WITHOUTTHE EXPRESS WRITTEN...
	REP. CAROLYN B. MALONEY CHAIR REP. CAROLYN B. MALONEY HOLDS A HEARING ON POST RECESSION JOB CREATION Transcript from: Washington Transcript Service; 12/10/2009; 700+ words ; ...RUSSELL ROBERTS, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY J. FISH AND LILLIAN F. SMITH DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR, MERCATUS CENTER, RESEARCH FELLOW, STANFORD UNIVERSITY'S HOOVER INSTITUTION [*] MALONEY: The committee will come to order. And I'mCongresswoman...
	'Brothers': Family Ties, Unraveling In Wartime Transcript from: NPR Fresh Air; 12/4/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...of a 2004 Danish film by Susanne Bier. Like the original it centers on a pair of very different siblings and the ways in which...armed robbery. The movie is called "Brothers," but the center, the fulcrum, is the whole Cahill clan. Natalie Portman...
	Solving Health Care Problems By Design Transcript from: NPR Morning Edition; 10/9/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...been redesigning health care. They worked with Kaiser Permanente to improve patient care. Now they're involved with the Centers for Disease Control on a project to combat childhood obesity. We spoke with IDEO's CEO, Tim Brown. Mr. TIM BROWN (CEO...
	Despite Action, Spain's Carbon Footprint Increases Transcript from: NPR Morning Edition; 12/10/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...his security pass and enters the nerve center of Spain's Smart Electric Grid. This...attention for American officials. This center looks like a NASA ground control with...spoken) SOCOLOVSKY: Using this control center, we can guarantee an even supply of power...