city

A1 Topic:Places & Geography

US /ˈsɪti/ UK [ˈsɪtʰiː] See IPA manual

Freq #480

Meanings

1

noun
A large town where many people live and work.

São Paulo is the largest city in South America.
2

noun
The people who live in a city, considered together.

The whole city celebrated when the team won.
3

noun
The main business or shopping area of a town; downtown.

I'm going into the city today to do some shopping.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a large town where many... metropolis

Opposites

town village

Word family

Forms cities

Derived forms agrocityanticitycidiotcitayecitiedcitificationcitizencity-buildercity-dwellercity-statecityboundcitybus

Related forms civic civilmegacitymegalopolismetropolismulticitymunicipality

Appears in

Phrases (3)

See all

Proverbs (1)

See all

You can't fight city hall

Simplified etymology

City entered Middle English from Old French cite, which came from Latin civitas, derived from civis, “citizen.” Civic, civility, civilian, and civilization belong to the same Latin word family.

Etymology

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.

cite Middle English citet Old French civitas la-lat *ḱey- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# city

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɪti/
**IPA (UK):** [ˈsɪtʰiː]
**Frequency rank:** 480

## Meanings
1. A large town where many people live and work.
2. The people who live in a city, considered together.
3. The main business or shopping area of a town; downtown.

## Examples
- São Paulo is the largest city in South America.
- The whole city celebrated when the team won.
- I'm going into the city today to do some shopping.

## Antonyms
- town
- village

## Derived Forms
- agrocity
- anticity
- cidiot
- citaye
- citied
- citification
- citizen
- city-builder
- city-dweller
- city-state
- citybound
- citybus

## Related Forms
- civic
- civil
- megacity
- megalopolis
- metropolis
- multicity
- municipality

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cite
- Root: citet
- Root: civitas
- Root: *ḱey-

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
city is a noun and name. It was 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. Historical forms in the chain include cite (Middle English), citet (Old French), civitas (Late Latin), and *ḱey- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include a large town where many people live and work, the people who live in a city, considered together, and the main business or shopping area of a town; downtown. Derived forms include agrocity, anticity, cidiot, citaye, and citied. Related words include civic, civil, megacity, and megalopolis.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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