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cit·y / ˈsitē/ • n. (pl. cit·ies) 1. a large town: [as adj.] the city center. ∎  an incorporated municipal center.2. inf. a place or situation characterized by a specified attribute: panic city. 3. (the City) the financial and commercial district of London, England.DERIVATIVES: cit·y·ward / -wərd/ adj. & adv.cit·y·wards / -wərdz/ adv.cit·y·wide / -ˌwīd/ adj.ORIGIN: Middle English: from Old French cite, from Latin civitas, from civis ‘citizen.’ Originally denoting a town, and often used as a Latin equivalent to Old English burh ‘borough,’ the term was later applied to foreign and ancient cities and to the more important English boroughs.

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