urban
/ˈɝ.bən/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.65 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or happening or located in, a city or town; of, pertaining to, or characteristic of life in such a place, especially when contrasted with the countryside.
adj
Having authority or jurisdiction over a city or town.
Example Sentences
- "urban life"
- "urban traffic"
- "As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast. Last year 1m square metres of plant-covered roofing was built in France, as much as in the US, and 10 times more than in Germany, the pioneer in this field. In Paris 22 hectares of roof have been planted, out of a potential total of 80 hectares."
- "Parkour – often referred to as freerunning – entails creatively moving through an urban environment: flipping, jumping and vaulting across various obstacles."
- "Inſomuch, as thoſe citizens vvere reputed for cheeſe and principall, vvho vvere poſſeſſed of land and living in the countrey: and theſe made the State, called the Ruſtick Tribes, in Rome: vvheras contrarivviſe the other eſtate, reputed the meaner in degree, vvas named the Vrbane Tribes; conſiſting of Artiſanes & ſuch like as vvere not landed perſons: into vvhich, if a man vvere transferred from any of the reſt, it vvas thought a great ſhame and diſgrace, as if hee vvere reproched for idleneſſe and negligence in husbandrie."
- "The Epithets of myce are thes; ſhort, ſmall, fearful, peaceable, ridiculous, ruſtik, or country mouſe, vrbane, or citty mouſe, […]"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *werbʰ-der. Proto-Italic *worβis? Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰosder.? Latin urbs Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Latin urbānusder. Middle French urbainbor. ▲ Latin urbānus ▲ Latin -ānus Old French -ainder. Middle English -an English -an English urban Borrowed from Middle French urbain (“belonging to a city, urban; courteous, refined, urbane”) (modern French urbain), or from its etymon Latin urbānus (“of or belonging to a city, urban; of manners or style: like those of city dwellers: cultivated, polished, refined, sophisticated”) + English -an (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Urbānus is derived from urbs (“city; walled town; Rome”) (further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- (“to encircle, enclose; a belt; an enclosure, fence”) or *werbʰ- (“to enclose”)) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). For the euphemistic or proscribed term, it was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *gʰerdʰ-, urbānus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɝ.bən/
- British English: /ˈɜː.bən/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in People.