## Meanings
1. A legally recognized member of a country, with the rights and duties that come with it.
2. A person who lives in a particular city or town.
3. An ordinary member of the public, as distinct from officials or rulers.

## Examples
- As a citizen of France, she can vote in national elections.
- The citizens of the town gathered to protest the new tax.
- Every citizen has the right to a fair trial.

## Synonyms
- burgess
- burgher
- denizen
- townsman
- townswoman

## Antonyms
- countryfolk
- countryman
- peasant
- villager

## Derived Forms
- anticitizen
- citizendom
- citizeness
- citizenhood
- citizenise
- citizenish
- citizenism
- citizenist
- citizenization
- citizenize
- citizenlike
- citizenly

## Related Forms
- citify
- city
- civil
- civilian

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: citeseyn
- Root: citesain
- Root: citeain

## Etymology
From Middle English citeseyn, citezein, borrowed from Anglo-Norman citesain (“burgher; city-dweller”), citezein, etc., probably a variant of cithein under influence of deinzein (“denizen”), from Anglo-Norman and Old French citeain, etc. and citaien, citeien, etc. ("burgher"; modern French citoyen), from cité ("settlement; cathedral city, city"; modern French cité) + -ain or -ien (“-an, -ian”). See city and hewe. Displaced native Old English burgwaras (plural form).

## AI Etymology
citizen is a noun. It is from Middle English citeseyn, citezein, borrowed from Anglo-Norman citesain (“burgher; city-dweller”), citezein, etc., probably a variant of cithein under influence of deinzein (“denizen”), from Anglo-Norman and Old French citeain, etc. and citaien, citeien, etc. ("burgher"; modern French citoyen), from cité ("settlement; cathedral city, city"; modern French cité) + -ain or -ien (“-an, -ian”). See city and hewe. Displaced native Old English burgwaras (plural form). Historical forms in the chain include citeseyn (Middle English), citesain (Anglo-Norman), and citeain (Old French). Current senses include a legally recognized member of a country, with the rights and duties that come with it, a person who lives in a particular city or town, and an ordinary member of the public, as distinct from officials or rulers. Derived forms include anticitizen, citizendom, citizeness, citizenhood, and citizenise. Related words include citify, city, civil, and civilian.

## Topics
- People & Society

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citizen

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