From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
central
adj 1: serving as an essential component; "a cardinal rule";
"the central cause of the problem"; "an example that was
fundamental to the argument"; "computers are fundamental
to modern industrial structure" [syn: cardinal,
central, fundamental, key, primal]
2: in or near a center or constituting a center; the inner area;
"a central position" [ant: peripheral]
n 1: a workplace that serves as a telecommunications facility
where lines from telephones can be connected together to
permit communication [syn: central, telephone exchange,
exchange]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Central \Cen"tral\, a. [L. centralis, fr. centrum: cf. F.
central. See Center.]
Relating to the center; situated in or near the center or
middle; containing the center; of or pertaining to the parts
near the center; equidistant or equally accessible from
certain points.
[1913 Webster]
Central force (Math.), a force acting upon a body towards
or away from a fixed or movable center.
Center sun (Astron.), a name given to a hypothetical body
about which M[aum]dler supposed the solar system together
with all the stars in the Milky Way, to be revolving. A
point near Alcyone in the Pleiades was supposed to possess
characteristics of the position of such a body.
[1913 Webster] Central
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Central \Cen"tral\, Centrale \Cen*tra"le\, n. [NL. centrale, fr.
L. centralis.] (Anat.)
The central, or one of the central, bones of the carpus or or
tarsus. In the tarsus of man it is represented by the
navicular.
[1913 Webster]