city state

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city state

/ˈsɪti steɪt/

Where it comes from

From city + state, a calque of German Stadtstaat.

noun city states · city-state

A sovereign city, as in Ancient Greece, often part of a league of such cities. Singapore is the world's most populous city state and the only island city-state in the world.
Similar: polis, civitas

Translations

Every language

noun sovereign city

Español	ciudad estado
한국어	도시국가 dosigukga, 시국 siguk
日本語	都市国家 toshikokka, 市国 shikoku
中文	城邦 chéngbāng, 城國 /城国 chéngguó, 市國 /市国 shìguó, 城市國家 /城市国家 chéngshì guójiā, 都市國家 /都市国家 dūshì guójiā
हिन्दी	नगर-राज्य nagar-rājya
Kiswahili	dola-mji
Português	cidade-estado, cidade-Estado
Français	cité-État
Deutsch	Stadtstaat
Italiano	città-stato
Ελληνικά	πόλη κράτος póli krátos, πόλη póli
Română	oraş-stat
Русский	го́род-госуда́рство górod-gosudárstvo
Tiếng Việt	thành bang
العربية	دولة مدينة dawla madīna
עברית	עיר־מדינה 'ír-m'diná

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MLA

"city state." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/city%20state. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

city state. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/city%20state

Chicago

"city state." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/city%20state.

BibTeX

@misc{city_state_2026,
  title = {city state},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/city%20state},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}