I. ˈsid.ē, -itē, -i noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English citie, from Old French cité, from Latin civitat-, civitas, from civis citizen + -itat-, -itas -ity — more at home
1. archaic : an inhabited place : hamlet , village
2.
a. : a large or important incorporated town or borough in Great Britain holding a royal charter and usually being the seat of an episcopacy — a title bearing traditional and honorary significance but not specific legal significance
b. : a populous place : a place larger than a village or town : a large, prominent, or important center of population
the cities of the ancient world
specifically : a relatively permanent and highly organized center having a population with varied skills, lacking self-sufficiency in the production of food, and usually depending primarily on manufacture and commerce to satisfy the wants of its inhabitants
the city offers real cultural advantages
c. : city-state
d. : a municipal corporation in the United States occupying a definite area and subject to the state from which it derives its powers and for which it exists as an area of local government governed under a legal charter by a mayor and council, by a commission, or by a city manager and council and being usually more populous than a town, borough, or village — see commission plan , council-manager plan
e. : a Canadian municipality of the highest class varying in character in the different provinces
f. : an administrative area centering in a municipality and set up under the protection of an international body (as the League of Nations) chiefly for the purpose of insuring freedom of trade and communication — see free city c
3. : the inhabitants or citizens of a city
4. : an aggregation of dwellings or other structures that is of such size or importance as to suggest a city
a trailer city of construction workers
Radio City
II. noun
slang : a thing, event, or situation that is strongly characterized by a specified feature or quality
the movie was shoot-out city