suburb

Where does the word "suburb" come from? It comes from Latin urbs, passing through Latin before entering English (1300s).

Suburb’s story begins in Latin: urbs meant “city.” City, combined with sub- (near, under). Within Latin, it grew into suburbium by ancient. An area near the city, from sub- and urbs. It reached English by 1300s as suburb. Settled as the English word for a residential area on the edge of a city. Today, suburb means a residential district located on the outskirts of a city.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient urbs "city", city, combined with sub- (near, under).
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient suburbium "an area near the city", an area near the city, from sub- and urbs.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s suburb "a residential area on the outskirts of a city", settled as the English word for a residential area on the edge of a city.