city

Where does the word "city" come from? It comes from Latin civitas, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

City’s story begins in Latin: civitas meant “citizenship, community.” From 'civis', citizen; it meant the body of citizens before it meant a place. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as cite. Paris's oldest district is still the Île de la Cité. It reached English by 1200s as city. In Britain it was traditionally a town with a cathedral. Today, city means a large and important town.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient civitas "citizenship, community", from 'civis', citizen; it meant the body of citizens before it meant a place.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval cite "town", Paris's oldest district is still the Île de la Cité.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s city "a large town", in Britain it was traditionally a town with a cathedral.