Where does “city” come from?

City comes from Middle English citee, from Old French cité, from Latin civitas, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱey-.

city (English): A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes...

Definitions

  1. A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes...

Ancestry of “city”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcitecity
2Old FrenchcitetAlternative form of cité
3Latincīvitās—
4Proto-Italickeiwissociety; citizen
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱey-to be lying down; to settle

Words derived from “city”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱey- →Every word from Proto-Italic keiwis →Every word from Latin cīvitās →