citizen
(ˈsɪtɪzən)
Forms: 4 citisein, -sain, -seyn(e, citesayne, -ceyn, -zeyn, citizein, 4–5 citeseyn, -zein(e, 4–6 -sen, 5 cita-, citiesyn, cetisen, cytezane (Sc.), -eyn, -ein, sitesyn, sytizin, (setsayne), 5–6 citesyn, -zen, 6 cytezyn, cityzen, -sen, cittesen, cytiezin, cytyzyn, 7 cittizen, 6– citizen.
[ME. citesein, etc., a. Anglo-Fr. citeseyn, -zein, sithezein, altered form of OF. citeain, citehain, citein, citeen, citien, citain, later citeyen, citoyen:—L. type *cīvitātān-um, f. cīvitāt-em city (cf. oppidān-um, villān-um); Romanic type civtatāno, -dano, whence Pr. ciutadan, Sp. ciudadano, Pg. ciudadão; and Pr. ciptadan, It. cittadano, now cittadino, OF. cite(h)ain. The intercalation of s (z) in Anglo-Fr. citesain has not been explained: association with dainzain denizen, which was often an equivalent term, has been suggested.
The suggestion that z was a mistaken reading of ȝ, meaning y, on the part of a 13th or 14th c. scribe or scribes, is in every respect untenable.]
1. An inhabitant of a city or (often) of a town; esp. one possessing civic rights and privileges, a burgess or freeman of a city.
| c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 5503 Þe citiseins of þat cite wel often god þonkeden he. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 5090 To London..thai come, The citisains fair in hem nome. 1382 Wyclif Acts xxi. 39, I am a man..of Tarsus..a citeseyn or burgeys, of a citee not unknown. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3263 [MS. after 1500] Sum of the Citizens assemblit with all. Ibid. 11879 Citasyns. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccvi. 187 The cytezeyns of london. c 1480 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 281 He thonckyd the cetisence of thayre fidelite. 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII, c. 9. §2 Citezens of Cities and Burgeys of boroughes and Townes. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (1852) 16 The kynge [Hen. VI.] came to London, & there was worchippfully reseved of the cittesens in whytt gownes & redde whoddes. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. ii. 95 Pisa renowned for graue Citizens. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. (1704) III. xv. 472 You, the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, of the House of Commons. a 1699 A. Halkett Autobiog. (1875) 20 Furnished by an honest Cittisen. 1782 Cowper Gilpin i, John Gilpin was a citizen Of credit and renown. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 352 The chiefs of the mercantile interest are no longer citizens. They avoid, they almost contemn, municipal honours and duties. |
b. Used also as feminine. (
Cf. citizeness.)
| 1605 Lond. Prodigal iii. i. 243, I'll have thee go like a citizen, in a guarded gown and a French hood. 1655 Francion vi. 20 She who was the most antient of the two Citizens. |
c. A townsman, as opposed to a countryman.
| 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. Prol., Faustus accused and blamed cytezyns, Amyntas blamed the rurall men agayne. 1845 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. II. 209 Both citizens and peasants are tired of it. 1860 Ruskin Mod. Paint. V. i. i. 4 The words ‘countryman..villager’, still signify a rude and untaught person, as opposed to the words ‘townsman’ and ‘citizen’. |
d. A civilian as distinguished from a soldier; in earlier times also distinguished from a member of the landed nobility or gentry. Johnson says ‘a man of trade, not a gentleman’.
| 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 53 When he speakes not like a Citizen You finde him like a Soldier. 1871 [see citizenhood]. |
e. With reference to the ‘heavenly city’, the New Jerusalem.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 8925 Þis ceté of heven..ilka citesayne þat wonned þare. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) I b, Amonge y⊇ citezyns of heuen. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. v. x. (1675) 338 A Citizen of the Heavenly Jerusalem, and but a Stranger and a Sojourner here. |
2. A member of a state, an enfranchised inhabitant of a country, as opposed to an alien; in
U.S., a person, native or naturalized, who has the privilege of voting for public offices, and is entitled to full protection in the exercise of private rights.
| 138. Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 69 [He] clevede to oon of þe citizeins of þat countre. 1538 Starkey England 46 The nombur of cytyzyns, in euery commynalty, Cyty, or cuntrey. 1633 Massinger Guardian v. iv, To save one citizen is a greater prize Than to have killed in war ten enemies. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 281 A too great disproportion among the citizens weakens any state. a 1799 Washington (Webster), If the citizens of the United States should not be free and happy, the fault will be entirely their own. 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVI. 11/1 A pledge, both to American citizens and foreign states. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 79 The object of our laws is to make the citizens as friendly and happy as possible. 1884 Gladstone in Standard 29 Feb. 2/4 A nation where every capable citizen was enfranchised. Mod. Arrest of an American citizen. |
b. as a title, representing
Fr. citoyen, which at the Revolution took the place of
Monsieur.
| 1795 Argus Dec. 26 Letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs to Citizen Miot. 1799 Med. Jrnl. I. 155 He was called to the female citizen [= citoyenne] Dangiviller, whom he found in a miserable situation. 1801 Ibid. V. 359 Such, Citizen Mayor, are the motives of the propositions which the Committee have the honour of laying before you. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. ii. i. |
c. phr. citizen of the world: one who is at home, and claims his rights, everywhere; a cosmopolitan; also,
citizen of nature. (
Cf. Cicero
De Leg. i. xxiii. 61
civem totius mundi.)
| 1474 Caxton Chesse 31 Helde hym bourgeys and cytezeyn of the world. 1625 Bacon Ess. Goodness, etc. (Arb.) 207 If a Man be Gracious, and Courteous to Strangers, it shewes, he is a Citizen of the World. 1760 Goldsm. (title), The Citizen of the World; or, Letters from a Chinese Philosopher. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) III. 148 An original genius, a citizen of nature. |
3. transf. Inhabitant, occupant, denizen. (Of men, beasts, things personified.)
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame 930 (Fairf. MS.) In this Region certeyn Duelleth many a Citezeyn Of which that seketh Daun Plato These ben eyryssh bestes. 1508 Fisher Wks. (1876) 235 Who ben the cytezyns of this regyon, truly none other but deuylles. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 465 His hand..—Rude ram, to batter such an ivory wall!—May feel her heart—poor citizen!—distress'd Wounding itself to death. 1603 Dekker Grissil (1841) 5 Let's ring a hunter's peal..in the ears Of our swift forest citizens. c 1630 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems i. xxvi. Wks. (1711) 5 A citizen of Thetis christal floods. |
4. adj. = citizenish, city-bred.
nonce-use.
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. iv. ii. 8, I am not well: But not so Citizen a wanton, as To seeme to dye, ere sicke. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., chiefly
appositive, as
citizen-king,
citizen-magistrate,
citizen-prince,
citizen-soldier,
citizen-sovereign; also,
citizen-life;
citizen-like adj. Citizens' Advice Bureau, any of a network of local offices where members of the public may obtain free and impartial advice,
esp. when experiencing difficulties with authorities or other individuals;
citizen's arrest Law (
orig. U.S.), an arrest carried out without a warrant by a private citizen (allowable in certain cases);
Citizens(') Band orig. U.S., a short-wave band made available for private radio communication;
abbrev. C.B.| 1830 Hobhouse in T. Juste S. Van de' Weyer (1871) App. iii. 268 He [Leopold] may do very well for a *citizen-king. 1851 H. Martineau Hist. Peace (1877) III. iv. xiii. 113 All eyes were fixed on the citizen-king [Louis Philippe]. |
| 1874 Mahaffy Soc. Life Greece viii. 254 *Citizen life was too precious to be poured out in wrath. |
| 1598 Florio, Cittadinesco, *Citizen-like. 1847 Emerson Repr. Men, Plato Wks. (Bohn) I. 303 He [Socrates] affected a good many citizen-like tastes. |
| 1837–9 Hallam Hist. Lit. i. iii. §59 A republican government that was rapidly giving way before the *citizen-prince. |
| 1939 Times 5 Oct. 11/1 The Queen..visited Branches of the *Citizens' Advice Bureau of the Charity Organisation Society at Fulham, Chelsea, Battersea and Clapham. 1969 Guardian 29 July 5/5 There is already a citizens' advice bureau just down the road. 1984 Metro (Auckland) Mar. 103/2 A phone call to the central Citizens' Advice Bureau soon put me in touch with them all. |
| 1941 Rep. Cases Supreme Court Calif. XVI. 659 Defendant concedes that he intended to make a *citizen's arrest — upon a charge of perjury. 1978 Daily Tel. 9 Nov. 1/7 A citizen's arrest..ended the nationwide hunt... He pinned her arms behind her and said: ‘I am taking no chances on you, lady. I am making a citizen's arrest.’ 1986 Guardian 20 Aug. 1/5 Joseph Hanson..was detained after a private detective made a citizen's arrest on a double-decker bus. |
| 1948 Radio & TV News Dec. 44 (heading) *Citizens Band oscillator. Ibid. 44/3 It has been possible to obtain greater output at higher efficiencies with less heating power in cathode types than in filamentary types at the Citizens Band frequency. 1958 Ibid. Nov. 37/1 There are many needs for radio, in delivery vehicles, on farms, and in small business. The Citizens Band has been a convenient catch-all for these groups. Ibid. 38/2 Under Citizens Band rules power was limited and eligibility requirements were simple. 1976 Perkowski & Stral Joy of CB ii. 13 As originally established in 1948, there were three classes of Citizens' Band licenses available. 1981 Times 4 Mar. 16/3 The messy compromise which Mr Whitelaw..announced over the introduction of Citizens Band radio was in the end forced on the Government. |
| 1843 Prescott Mexico (1850) II. 310 The *citizen-soldiers of Villa Rica. |
Hence
citizen v., to address as ‘citizen’.
| 1871 Daily News 19 Apr. 5 Now the sentinel ‘citizens’ me, and I ‘citizen’ him. |
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Add:
[5.] Citizen's Charter (also
Citizens' Charter) Pol., a name given to various documents which concern the rights of citizens;
spec. a British government document produced in 1991, designed to guarantee that public services meet certain standards of performance, and to give the public rights of redress when such standards are not upheld.
| 1913 C. E. Innes (title) The *Citizens' Charter. A scheme of national organisation. [Ibid. 5 This Scheme constitutes, in the making, a Charter of Citizenship, emphasizing and recording the rights and obligations of the citizen.] 1938 C. L. Nordon State of Emergency 11 (heading) The Citizens' Charter and the People's Pledge. 1991 J. Major Speech 23 Mar. in Citizen's Charter (House of Commons Libr. Ref. Sheet 92/8) (1992) (cover), What we now aim to do is to put in place a comprehensive Citizen's Charter. It will work for quality across the whole range of public services. 1991 Economist 3 Aug. 27/1 In the ‘citizen's charter’, unveiled on July 22nd, the government confirmed its plans to deregulate the capital's buses. 1992 Observer 2 Feb. 16/1 (Advt.), The Citizen's Charter sets a new Standard for public services. |
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citizen journalism n. the work of citizen journalists.
| 1995 Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune 9 Apr. b2/5 A handful of daily newspapers have moved toward civic or *citizen journalism. 2005 Independent 23 Nov. 31/5, I do think professional and citizen journalism will blur together,..because we will find that some amateurs are as talented as a professional journalist. |
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citizen journalist n. a non-professional journalist, typically working outside traditional media channels.
In
quot. 1842 referring to the author of a text called the
Citizens' Journal.
| 1842 A. Strickland Lives Queens of Eng. VI. iv. 151 She [sc. Elizabeth I] rode up Leadenhall-street to Gracechurch-street, called by our *citizen journalist ‘Grasschurch-street’. 1959 E. Kinkead In Every War but One 11 The Army..was not only willing, but eager, to devote a great deal of time to a citizen journalist. 2008 Columbia Journalism Rev. Mar.–Apr. 12/3 Where the press is under government control, corrupt, or simply incompetent, citizen journalists may be the only source of information that is reasonably credible. |