urbane
English · Deutsch · Italiano · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
urbane
- /ɜːˈbeɪn/ UK
- /ˈɝˈbeɪn/ US
Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
A variant of urban + -ane (a variant of -an (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives)). Urban is 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”), 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).
Compare typologically civil, courteous.
adjective urbaner · more urbane · urbanest · most urbane
- Of a person (usually a man): having refined manners; courteous, polite, suave. We took advantage of our acquaintance with the urbane Frenchman to join his party; the conversation turned almost entirely on literary subjects.
-
Of an act, expression, etc.: suited to a person of refined manners; elegant, sophisticated.
He [Yusuf I of Granada] had an excellent memory, well stored with science and erudition; he was of a lively genius, and accounted the best poet of his time, and his manners were gentle, affable, and urbane.
Opposite: unurbane
- Obsolete spelling of urban (“of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a city or town, or life in such a place; living in a city or town; having authority or jurisdiction over 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
Translations
Every language
adj of a person (usually a man): having refined manners — see also courteous, polite, suave
| Español | urbano, cortés |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 彬彬有禮的 /彬彬有礼的 bīnbīnyǒulǐde |
| Français | urbain |
| Deutsch | weltgewandt, weltmännisch |
| Ελληνικά | κόσμιος kósmios |
| Русский | обходи́тельный obxodítelʹnyj, учти́вый učtívyj, ве́жливый véžlivyj |
Talk about this word "urbane." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/urbane. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. urbane. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/urbane "urbane." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/urbane.Cite this
@misc{urbane_2026,
title = {urbane},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/urbane},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
