Etymologically
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citizen

Etymology and origin of the English word citizen

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1300
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman citesein via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (cīvitās)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsɪt.ɪ.zən/, /ˈsɪt.ə.zən/, US /ˈsɪt̬.ɪ.zən/, /ˈsɪt̬.ə.zən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English citisein, borrowed from Anglo-Norman citesein, citezein,[2][3][4] an alteration of citeien (modern French citoyen),[2][3] formed from cite “city” and the suffix -ien,[3][5] ultimately from Latin cīvitās (“city”).[4][6] NODE and the SOED explain the z by the influence of deinzein “denizen”, while Barnhart thinks it more likely came from words such as Old French denzein, whose ending was taken to be -zain.[6][7][3] See city.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An inhabitant of a city or town: about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart, about 1314 in the OED.[2][3][8]

Semantic evolution

Old English words for it were burhsittend and ceasterware.[2] A member of a state, as opposed to an alien, is from the late 14th century, about 1380 in Chaucer's Boethius according to Barnhart.[2][3] A civilian, as opposed to a soldier, is from 1607 in the OED.[8] Citizen of the world is from 1474, translating Latin civis totius mundi.[8][2] After the French Revolution Citizen was used as a title, translating French citoyen, from 1795.[8][2] Citizenship is from 1611, citizenry from 1819, and a citizen's arrest from 1941.[3][2]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – a town dweller.[2][3]
  • late 14th century – a member of a state.[2]
  • 1474 – citizen of the world.[8]
  • 1607 – a civilian.[8]
  • 1795 – Citizen as a title.[8]
  • 1941 – citizen's arrest.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who belongs to a particular country by birth or naturalization, with the rights and duties that go with it.
  2. A person who lives in a particular city or town.
  3. A civilian, as opposed to a soldier or official.

Word family

  • citizenly
  • citizeness
  • citizenry
  • citizenship
  • cybercitizen
  • netizen
  • noncitizen
  • undercitizen

Usage notes

Citizen, national and subject all mean a person who owes loyalty to a state and is entitled to its protection: an American citizen, a British national, a French subject.[9]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Citizen.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/citizen. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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