citizen

English

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citizen

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• cytesin (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English citeseyn, citezein, borrowed from Anglo-Norman citesain (“burgher; city-dweller”), citezein etc., probably a variant of cithein under influence of deinzein (“denizen”), from Anglo-Norman and Old French citeain etc. and citaien, citeien etc. ("burgher"; modern French citoyen), from cité ("settlement; cathedral city, city"; modern French cité) + -ain or -ien (“-an, -ian”). See city and hewe.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪtɪzən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪtɪzən/, /ˈsɪtɪsən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

citizen (plural citizens)

1. A resident of a city or town, especially one with legally-recognized rights or duties.

   Synonyms: burgess, burgher, cityite, freeman

   Hyponyms: citess, (female) citizeness

   • 1862 July – 1863 August, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “What Florence was Thinking of”, in Romola. , volume II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., , published 1863, →OCLC, book II, page 180:

     [T]hat large body of the working men who were not counted as citizens and had not so much as a vote to serve as an anodyne to their stomachs were likely to get impatient.

2. A legally-recognized member of a state, with associated rights and obligations; a person considered in terms of this role.
   • 1990, House of Cards, season 1, episode 4:

     Assistant: You'll meet with the managing director and Dr Sinita Brahmachari, the engineer who designed the chair.
     Peter Mackenzie: Indian, is he?
     Assistant: She is a British citizen, Minister. Born in Coventry.

   • 2012 January, Steven Sloman, “The Battle Between Intuition and Deliberation”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 8 January 2012, page 74:

     Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented to citizens affects what they choose, society should present options in a way that “nudges” our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they were in control.

   I am a Roman citizen.

   Synonyms: countryman, national

   Antonyms: alien, illegal alien, foreigner, (colloquial) illegal

   Hyponyms: first-class citizen, second-class citizen, third-class citizen, native, naturalized citizen, senior citizen, corporate citizen

3. An inhabitant or occupant: a member of any place.

   Diogenes reckoned himself a citizen of the world.

   • 1979 October, Boys' Life, page 33:

     A jellyfish... carries poison cells that can sting other citizens of the sea.

   Synonyms: denizen, local, inhabitant, native, occupant, resident

   Antonyms: alien, outsider, stranger

4. (Christianity) A resident of the heavenly city or (later) of the kingdom of God: a Christian; a good Christian.
5. A civilian, as opposed to a police officer, soldier, or member of some other specialized (usually state) group.
6. (obsolete) An ordinary person, as opposed to nobles and landed gentry on one side and peasants, craftsmen, and laborers on the other.
   • 1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, III.v.6:

     [W]ould Mr. Delvile, who hardly ever spoke but to the high-born, without seeming to think his dignity somewhat injured, deign to receive for a daughter in law the child of a citizen and tradesman?

7. (now historical, usually capitalized) A term of address among French citizens during the French Revolution or towards its supporters elsewhere; (later, dated) a term of address among socialists and communists.
   • 1859, Charles Dickens, “In Secret”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, , →OCLC, book III (The Track of a Storm), page 166:

     Citizen, I desire nothing more than to get to Paris, though I could dispense with the escort.

   Synonym: (term of address among communists) comrade

8. (computing) An object.

   Hyponyms: first-class citizen, second-class citizen, third-class citizen

Synonyms

• burgess
• burgher
• denizen
• townsman, townswoman

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “resident of a city”): countryfolk, country gentleman, countryman, peasant, villager

Hyponyms

• (person who is legally recognized as a member or resident): first-class citizen, second-class citizen, third-class citizen

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "citizen, n. and adj." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2014.

Anagrams

• zincite