English
city
City comes from Old French citet, from Latin cīvitās ‘citizenship; the citizens as a body’ (Late Latin ‘city’), from cīvis ‘citizen’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to settle, be lying down’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-‘to settle, be lying down’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*keiwisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvis‘citizen’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvitās‘citizenship; the state, citizens’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400citet‘city’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cite‘a city’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592city
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-‘to settle, be lying down’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*keiwisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvis‘citizen’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcīvitās‘citizenship; the state, citizens’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400citet‘city’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cite‘a city’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592city
Earliest quotation: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Ah, knovv you not the Citie fauours them, /…”
The story
Mostly displaced native Old English burg, whence Modern English borough.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘lie down’
home, civil, hide, cemetery, coma, civic, haunt, citadel, ceilidh, hame, civitas, 33 more
Today it means
noun A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes with a specific legal definition, depending on the place.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- / city