citizen definition

English

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. [from 14th c.]

   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. [from 14th c.]
   • 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^[1], 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. [from 14th c.]

   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. [from 15th c.]
5. A civilian, as opposed to a police officer, soldier, or member of some other specialized (usually state) group. [from 16th c.]
6. (obsolete) An ordinary person, as opposed to nobles and landed gentry on one side and peasants, craftsmen, and laborers on the other. [17th–19th c.]
   • 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. [from 18th c.]
   • 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

• (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