"Century invention" refers to an invention that was created during a specific century, which is a period of 100 years. It highlights the significance and impact of the invention during that time period. Full definition
«From its earliest days, science has been associated with institutions — the Accademia del Lincei, founded in 1609, the Royal Society of Britian, founded in 1660, the Académie des Sciences in France, founded in 1666 — because scholars (savants and natural philosophers as they were variously called before the 19th century invention of the word «scientist») understood that to create new knowledge they needed a means to test each other's claims. (climatechangecomedian.com)
With the twentieth - century invention of the motor car, then the aeroplane, families and individuals were even less likely to be anchored to one place for life. (religion-online.org)
Moodiness being such a seemingly late - 20th century invention for middle - aged people with too much time on their hands. (decider.com)