English
citizen
Citizen comes from Middle English citeseyn, from Anglo-Norman citesain ‘city-dweller’, an alteration of citeien, from Old French cite ‘city’.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cite1‘city’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400citesain1‘city-dweller’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500citeseyn1‘inhabitant of a city’
- Englishearliest quotation 1782citizen1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English citizen
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia: “[W]ould Mr. Delvile, who hardly ever spoke but to…”.
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400citeWiktionary, English citizen‘city’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400citesainWiktionary, English citizen‘city-dweller’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500citeseynWiktionary, English citizen‘inhabitant of a city’
- Englishearliest quotation 1782citizenWiktionary, English citizen. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia: “[W]ould Mr. Delvile, who hardly ever spoke but to…”
The story
From Middle English citeseyn (‘inhabitant of a city or town’), citezein, citisein, from Anglo-Norman citesain (‘city-dweller, town-dweller’), citesein, citezein, alteration of citeien from cite (‘city’) + -ien (‘-ain’) (probable variant of cithein perhaps influenced by dainzain (‘denizen’), deinzein), from Old French cite (‘city’) + -ien (whence French citoyen), from earlier citet, from Latin civitatem, citatem, from civis.
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Today it means
noun A resident of a city or town, especially one with legally recognized rights or duties.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “citizen”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Old French cite / citizen