From Latin 'civitas,' originally not a place but 'citizenship' — a word about people and identity, not buildings.
A large and permanent human settlement, typically with extensive systems of housing, transportation, and governance.
From Anglo-Norman 'cité,' from Old French 'cité,' from Latin 'cīvitātem' (accusative of 'cīvitās'), meaning 'citizenship, community of citizens, a city-state.' The Latin word derives from 'cīvis' (citizen), from PIE *ḱey- (to lie, to settle — the same root as 'home'). Crucially, 'cīvitās' originally meant the body of citizens, not the physical place — the word's shift from 'citizenry' to 'settlement' happened during the late Roman and early
Latin 'cīvitās' originally meant 'the body of citizens,' not a physical place — a Roman would say they belonged to a cīvitās the way we say we have citizenship. The shift from 'community of people' to 'the place where they live' happened gradually during the decline of the Roman Empire.
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