Etymograph

English

uncity

Uncity 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. Englishtodayuncity3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin civitas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French citet
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English uncity

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 uncity‘city’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500citeWiktionary, English uncity
  8. English1500–presentcityWiktionary, English uncity
  9. EnglishtodayuncityWiktionary, English uncity

A compound of un- + city

Proto-Indo-European *n̥- ‘not, un-’

Proto-Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’

Proto-West Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’

English un-

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

…

Latin cīvis ‘citizen’

Latin cīvitās ‘citizenship; the state, citizens’

Old French citet ‘city’

Middle English cite ‘a city’

English city

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

verb To deprive of the status of a city.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “uncity”; 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- / uncity

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