English Explanatory Dictionary

city

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes with a specific legal definition, depending on the place.
  2. A settlement granted special status by royal charter or letters patent; traditionally, a settlement with a cathedral regardless of size.
  3. The central business district; downtown.
  4. A large amount of something (used after the noun).
name
  1. Manchester City Football Club, an English football club.
name
  1. The City of London, the historic core of London where the Roman settlement of Londinium was established.
  2. The United Kingdom's financial industries, which are principally based in the City of London.
  3. The borough of Manhattan, the historic core of New York.
  4. Any of several other cities in metropolitan areas (such as San Francisco).

Pronunciation

sĭt′ē /ˈsɪti/ [ˈsɪtʰiː] [ˈsɪtʰɪj] [ˈsɪʔɪj] En-uk-city.ogg /sɪtɪ/ /ˈsɪt.i/ [ˈsɪɾ.i] en-us-city.ogg /ˈsɪt.iː/ [ˈsiɾ.iː] [ˈsɪɾ.iː] EN-AU ck1 city.ogg [ˈsɪʔe] [ˈsɪtʰe] [ˈsɪʔɪ] [ˈsɪtʰɪ] [ˈsɪʔi] [ˈsɪtʰi]

Word forms

city cities citie cittie cyte cytee the City

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.

Synonyms

city the Square Mile

Antonyms

town village

Related words

civic civil megacity megalopolis metropolis multicity municipality Hammersmith & City

Derived words

15-minute city agrocity alpha city Angel City Angeles City anticity beta city capital city caravan city cardboard city cathedral city Cavite City central city Chocolate City cidiot citaye citied citification citizen city administrator city and county city banker city block city block distance citybound city boy city break city-builder city-building game citybus city bus city center city centre citycentric city chicken city clerk city council city desk city district city-dweller city dweller city father cityful city gent city girl city hall cityhood cityish cityite city killer cityless city lights citylike city limit(s) city line city man cityman city manager city map citymate
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on C Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary