Where does “urbanity” come from?
Urbanity comes from English urban with the French suffix -ité, from Latin urbānitas meaning "city life or refinement," derived from urbs meaning "city."
urbanity (English): Behaviour that is polished, refined, courteous;...
Definitions
- Behaviour that is polished, refined, courteous;...
Ancestry of “urbanity”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | urban | Related to the city; Characteristic of city... |
| 2 | Middle French | urbain | urban, belonging to a city; also: polite,... |
| 3 | Latin | Urbānus | of or belonging to a city; urban |
| 4 | Latin | urbs | a city, walled town; the City, Rome |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | worβis | city |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | werbʰ- | to enclose |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | werb- | to throw, twist, bend; to turn, bend, twist; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |