A central office, especially in telecommunications or utilities; the main switching station for telephone or electrical systems.
From French/Italian 'centrale,' derived from Latin 'centralis' (relating to the center). European telephone and power systems adopted this term to describe their central distribution hubs.
Before the internet, a 'centrale' was where all phone calls in a region went—operators there would physically connect cables to route your call, and they had amazing memories for phone numbers!
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