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[sit-ee] /ˈsɪt i/
noun, plural cities.
a large or important town.
(in the U.S.) an incorporated municipality, usually governed by a mayor and a board of aldermen or councilmen.
the inhabitants of a city collectively:
The entire city is mourning his death.
(in Canada) a municipality of high rank, usually based on population.
(in Great Britain) a borough, usually the seat of a bishop, upon which the dignity of the title has been conferred by the crown.
the City.
  1. the major metropolitan center of a region; downtown:
    I'm going to the City to buy clothes and see a show.
  2. the commercial and financial area of London, England.
a city-state.
(often initial capital letter) Slang. a place, person, or situation having certain features or characteristics (used in combination):
The party last night was Action City. That guy is dull city.
1175-1225; Middle English cite < Anglo-French, Old French cite(t) < Latin cīvitāt- (stem of cīvitās) citizenry, town, equivalent to cīvi(s) citizen + -tāt- -ty2
Related forms
cityless, adjective
citylike, adjective
intercity, adjective
minicity, noun, plural minicities.
outcity, noun, plural outcities.
procity, adjective
subcity, noun, plural subcities.
1. See community. Unabridged
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British Dictionary definitions for the city


noun (pl) cities
any large town or populous place
(in Britain) a large town that has received this title from the Crown: usually the seat of a bishop
(in the US) an incorporated urban centre with its own government and administration established by state charter
(in Canada) a similar urban municipality incorporated by the provincial government
an ancient Greek city-state; polis
the people of a city collectively
(modifier) in or characteristic of a city: a city girl, city habits
adjectives civic urban municipal
Word Origin
C13: from Old French cité, from Latin cīvitās citizenship, state, from cīvis citizen


noun the City
short for City of London: the original settlement of London on the N bank of the Thames; a municipality governed by the Lord Mayor and Corporation. Resident pop: 7186 (2001)
the area in central London in which the United Kingdom's major financial business is transacted
the various financial institutions located in this area
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for the city



early 13c., in medieval usage a cathedral town, but originally "any settlement," regardless of size (distinction from town is 14c., though in English it always seems to have ranked above borough), from Old French cite "town, city" (10c., Modern French cité), from earlier citet, from Latin civitatem (nominative civitas; in Late Latin sometimes citatem) originally "citizenship, condition or rights of a citizen, membership in the community," later "community of citizens, state, commonwealth" (used, for instance of the Gaulish tribes), from civis "townsman," from PIE root *kei- "to lie; bed, couch; homestead; beloved, dear" (see cemetery).

The sense has been transferred from the inhabitants to the place. The Latin word for "city" was urbs, but a resident was civis. Civitas seems to have replaced urbs as Rome (the ultimate urbs) lost its prestige. Loss of Latin -v- is regular in French in some situations (cf. alleger from alleviare; neige from nivea; jeune from juvenis. A different sound evolution from the Latin word yielded Italian citta, Catalan ciutat, Spanish ciudad, Portuguese cidade.

Replaced Old English burh (see borough). London is the city from 1550s. As an adjective from c.1300. City hall first recorded 1670s to fight city hall is 1913, American English; city slicker first recorded 1916 (see slick); both American English. City limits is from 1825. The newspaper city desk attested from 1878. Inner city first attested 1968. City state (also city-state) is attested from 1877.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for the city


combining word
  1. The place or milieu of what is indicated: hamburger city
  2. A prevalence or instance of the thing indicated: trouble city/ dumb city/ fat city
Related Terms

fat city, fun city, soul city, tap city, wrinkle city

[1930s+ Jazz musicians; coined on the model of the -sville suffix]

Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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the city in the Bible

The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain (Gen. 4:17). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12). Next, we have a record of the cities of the Canaanites, Sidon, Gaza, Sodom, etc. (10:12, 19; 11:3, 9; 36:31-39). The earliest description of a city is that of Sodom (19:1-22). Damascus is said to be the oldest existing city in the world. Before the time of Abraham there were cities in Egypt (Num. 13:22). The Israelites in Egypt were employed in building the "treasure cities" of Pithom and Raamses (Ex. 1:11); but it does not seem that they had any cities of their own in Goshen (Gen. 46:34; 47:1-11). In the kingdom of Og in Bashan there were sixty "great cities with walls," and twenty-three cities in Gilead partly rebuilt by the tribes on the east of Jordan (Num. 21:21, 32, 33, 35; 32:1-3, 34-42; Deut. 3:4, 5, 14; 1 Kings 4:13). On the west of Jordan were thirty-one "royal cities" (Josh. 12), besides many others spoken of in the history of Israel. A fenced city was a city surrounded by fortifications and high walls, with watch-towers upon them (2 Chr. 11:11; Deut. 3:5). There was also within the city generally a tower to which the citizens might flee when danger threatened them (Judg. 9:46-52). A city with suburbs was a city surrounded with open pasture-grounds, such as the forty-eight cities which were given to the Levites (Num. 35:2-7). There were six cities of refuge, three on each side of Jordan, namely, Kadesh, Shechem, Hebron, on the west of Jordan; and on the east, Bezer, Ramoth-gilead, and Golan. The cities on each side of the river were nearly opposite each other. The regulations concerning these cities are given in Num. 35:9-34; Deut. 19:1-13; Ex. 21:12-14. When David reduced the fortress of the Jebusites which stood on Mount Zion, he built on the site of it a palace and a city, which he called by his own name (1 Chr. 11:5), the city of David. Bethlehem is also so called as being David's native town (Luke 2:4). Jerusalem is called the Holy City, the holiness of the temple being regarded as extending in some measure over the whole city (Neh. 11:1). Pithom and Raamses, built by the Israelites as "treasure cities," were not places where royal treasures were kept, but were fortified towns where merchants might store their goods and transact their business in safety, or cities in which munitions of war were stored. (See PITHOM.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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