citizen

Meaning

Noun

• A resident of a city or town, especially one with legally-recognized rights or duties.
• A legally-recognized member of a state, with associated rights and obligations; a person considered in terms of this role.
• An inhabitant or occupant: a member of any place.
• A resident of the heavenly city or of the kingdom of God: a Christian; a good Christian.
• A civilian, as opposed to a police officer, soldier, or member of some other specialized (usually state) group.
• An ordinary person, as opposed to nobles and landed gentry on one side and peasants, craftsmen, and laborers on the other.
• A term of address among French citizens during the French Revolution or towards its supporters elsewhere; a term of address among socialists and communists.
• An object.

Related

Similar words

• burgess
• burgher
• denizen
• townsman, townswoman

Opposite words

• countryfolk, country gentleman, countryman, peasant, villager

Narrower meaning words

• first-class citizen, second-class citizen, third-class citizen

Origin

• From Middle English citeseyn, citezein, borrowed from Anglo-Norman citesain, citezein &c., probably a variant of cithein under influence of deinzein, from Anglo-Norman and Old French citeain &c. and citaien, citeien &c. ("burgher"; modern French citoyen), from cité ("settlement; cathedral city, city"; modern French cité) + -ain or -ien. See city#Etymology and hewe#Etymology.