English

protocitizen

From proto- + citizen.

Proto-Indo-European *pér ‘through’

Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘forwards, before’

Proto-Hellenic *pró

Ancient Greek πρό ‘before’

Ancient Greek πρῶτος ‘first’

Old French cite ‘city’

Anglo-Norman citesain ‘city-dweller’

Middle English citeseyn ‘inhabitant of a city’

Today it means

noun A person whose social status is an early approximation to the later idea of a citizen.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / protocitizen