"citizen" in seven languages
Meaningcitizen
Spanish
/θjudaˈdano/
masc.inherited
Built on ciudad 'city' + -ano.
French
/sitwajɛ̃/
masc.inherited
fem.: citoyenne
Built on cité + -ien; famous from the Revolution's 'Citoyens !'.
Italian
/tʃittaˈdino/
masc.inherited
Built on città + -ino; also an adjective, 'of the city'.
Portuguese
/sidaˈdɐ̃w/
masc.inherited
plural: cidadãos
Romanian
/tʃetəˈtse̯an/
masc.inherited
Built on cetate (CĪVITĀTEM), which now means 'fortress'.
Catalan
/siwtəˈda/
masc.inherited
English
/ˈsɪtəzən/
from Latin/French · Anglo-French citesein, from cité 'city'
The Latin ancestor
CĪVITĀTEM‘citizenship, city-state’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Each language made 'a person of the city' from its own heir of CĪVITĀS: ciudad, cité, città. Learned civil and civic stay closer to the Latin CĪVIS 'citizen'.
English relatives: city, civic, civil, civilization
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esTodo ciudadano tiene derecho a votar.
- frTout citoyen a le droit de voter.
- itOgni cittadino ha il diritto di votare.
- ptTodo cidadão tem direito de votar.
- roFiecare cetățean are dreptul să voteze.
- caTot ciutadà té dret a votar.
- enEvery citizen has the right to vote.