Etymograph

English

cityish

Cityish comes from Old French citet ‘city’, from Proto-Italic *keiwis ‘society’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to be lying down’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-1‘to be lying down’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*keiwis1‘society’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEceivis1
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEceivitās1
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcivitas2as cīvitātem‘city’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400citet3‘city’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cite3
  8. English1500–presentcity3
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2011cityish3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin civitas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French citet
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English cityish
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, sirstand: “I am really looking for a place that has…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-Wiktionary, Latin civitas‘to be lying down’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*keiwisWiktionary, Latin civitas‘society’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEceivisWiktionary, Latin civitas
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEceivitāsWiktionary, Latin civitas
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcivitasWiktionary, Old French citetas cīvitātem‘city’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400citetWiktionary, English cityish‘city’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500citeWiktionary, English cityish
  8. English1500–presentcityWiktionary, English cityish
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2011cityishWiktionary, English cityish. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, sirstand: “I am really looking for a place that has…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to be lying down’

home, hide, cemetery, coma, haunt, ceilidh, hame, incivility, 28 more

through Proto-Italic *keiwis ‘society’

civilisation, civics, civility, civilize, 15 more

through Latin ceivis

civil, civic, 19 more

through Late Latin civitas ‘city’

citadel, civitas, 14 more

Today it means

adj Resembling or characteristic of a city; urban.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cityish”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin civitas, Old French citet. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- / cityish

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