city
/ˈsɪt.i/ [ˈsɪɾ.i]
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.61 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes with a specific legal definition, depending on the place.
noun
A settlement granted special status by royal charter or letters patent; traditionally, a settlement with a cathedral regardless of size.
British usage
name
The City of London, the historic core of London where the Roman settlement of Londinium was established.
British usage
name
The United Kingdom's financial industries, which are principally based in the City of London.
British usage
Example Sentences
- "São Paulo is the largest city in South America."
- "Ah, knovv you not the Citie fauours them, / And they haue troupes of Souldiers at their beck?"
- "So this was my future home, I thought![…]Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams."
- "But clever cities will not necessarily be better ones."
- "One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination."
- "All our stations have changed. We have to constrain numbers. We have to mandate face coverings. These are massive changes in what is a public transport city. This is not a car city."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-der. Proto-Italic *keiwis Latin ceivis Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin ceivitās Late Latin cīvitātem (city) Old French citetbor. Middle English cite English city Inherited from Middle English cite, derived from Old French cite, derived from Late Latin cīvitātem (“city”), in Classical Latin "citizenry", derived from cīvis (“fellow-citizen”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“lie down; settle”). Cognate with Old English hīwan pl (“members of one's household, servants”). See hewe. Doublet of civitas. Mostly displaced native Old English burg, whence Modern English borough.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɪt.i/ [ˈsɪɾ.i]
- British English: [ˈsɪtʰiː]
Usage
- British usage
- Australian usage
- Slang
- Informal
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Places.