urban
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urban¹
- /ˈɜː.bən/ UK
- /ˈɝ.bən/ US
- /ˈœː.bən/ Australia
- /ˈøː.bən/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)bən
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Middle French urbain (“belonging to a city, urban; courteous, refined, urbane”) (modern French urbain), or from its etymon Latin urbānus (“of or belonging to a city, urban; of manners or style: like those of city dwellers: cultivated, polished, refined, sophisticated”) + English -an (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Urbānus is derived from urbs (“city; walled town; Rome”) (further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- (“to encircle, enclose; a belt; an enclosure, fence”) or *werbʰ- (“to enclose”)) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives).
For the euphemistic or proscribed term, it was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music.
adjective more urban · most urban · urbane
- Of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or happening or located in, a city or town; of, pertaining to, or characteristic of life in such a place, especially when contrasted with the countryside. urban life
- Living in a city or town. Inſomuch, as thoſe citizens vvere reputed for cheeſe and principall, vvho vvere poſſeſſed of land and living in the countrey: and theſe made the State, called the Ruſtick Tribes, in Rome: vvheras contrarivviſe the other eſtate, reputed the meaner in degree, vvas named the Vrbane Tribes; conſiſting o
- Having authority or jurisdiction over a city or town. All theſe Magiſtrats are but temporary, and have a time limited them; the Urbane or Citty Magiſtrats ſome of them continue in office 6. months, others 8. months, others are annuall; […]
- Relating to contemporary African American culture, especially in music.
- Of an inhabitant or resident: black; African-American.
Urban²
- /ˈɜːb(ə)n/ UK
- /ˈɜɹbən/ US
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)bən
Where it comes from
Latin Urbānus, name of eight early popes, from urbānus (“of the town or city, urbane”). Doublet of Orban.
proper noun Urbans
- A male given name from Latin.
- A surname originating as a patronymic.
- An early Christian, also Urbane and Urbanus in various versions of the Bible. Grete wel Vrban, oure helpere in Crist Jhesus, and Stacchen, my derlyng.
- Ellipsis of Urban Dictionary Or my Oxford English Dictionary (OED), do you think I can get Urban to mainstream it for me?
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: cityfied, citified, city-born, city-bred, urbanized, urbanisation, urbanization, city, oppidan, suburban, urbanism, town, township, downtown, inner-city, district
Translations
Every language
adj of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or happening or located in, a city or town; of, pertaining to, or characteristic of life in such a place
| Español | urbano |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 도시의 dosiui |
| 日本語 | 都市の toshi no |
| 中文 | 城市的 chéngshì de, 都市的 dūshì de |
| हिन्दी | नगरीय nagrīya |
| Português | urbano |
| Français | urbain, citadin |
| Deutsch | städtisch, urban, Stadt- |
| Italiano | urbano |
| Ελληνικά | αστικός astikós |
| Română | urban |
| Русский | городско́й gorodskój |
| Tiếng Việt | thành phố, đô thị, thành thị |
| العربية | حَضَرِيّ ḥaḍariyy, مَدَنِيّ madaniyy |
| עברית | עירוני ironí |
Talk about this word "urban." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/urban. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. urban. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/urban "urban." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/urban.Cite this
@misc{urban_2026,
title = {urban},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/urban},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
