citizen English · revision 5586

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la cīvitās}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈsɪt.ɪ.zən/, /ˈsɪt.ə.zən/, US /ˈsɪt̬.ɪ.zən/, /ˈsɪt̬.ə.zən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|citisein]], [[bor|xno|citesein|alt=citesein, citezein]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) an alteration of [[m|fro|citeien]] (modern French citoyen),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) formed from cite “city” and the suffix -ien,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) ultimately from [[la|cīvitās|t=city]].^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) 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.^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002)^(Barnhart 1988) See [[city]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An inhabitant of a city or town: about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart, about 1314 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English words for it were burhsittend and ceasterware.^(Etymonline) 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.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) A civilian, as opposed to a soldier, is from 1607 in the OED.^(OED 1989) ''Citizen of the world'' is from 1474, translating Latin civis totius mundi.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) After the French Revolution Citizen was used as a title, translating French citoyen, from 1795.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Citizenship'' is from 1611, ''citizenry'' from 1819, and a ''citizen's arrest'' from 1941.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a town dweller.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – a member of a state.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1474 – ''citizen of the world''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1607 – a civilian.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1795 – Citizen as a title.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1941 – ''citizen's arrest''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who belongs to a particular country by birth or [[naturalization]], with the rights and duties that go with it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person who lives in a particular city or town.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[civilian]], as opposed to a soldier or official.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[citizenly]]

+ * [[citizeness]]

+ * [[citizenry]]

+ * [[citizenship]]

+ * [[cybercitizen]]

+ * [[netizen]]

+ * [[noncitizen]]

+ * [[undercitizen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[citify]]

+ * [[city]]

+ * [[civil]]

+ * [[civilian]]

+ * [[civic]]

+ * [[denizen]]

+

+ ==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''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}