English Online Dictionary. What means urban? What does urban mean?
English
Etymology
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.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɜːb(ə)n/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɜɹbən/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)bən
- Hyphenation: urb‧an
Adjective
urban (comparative more urban, superlative most urban)
- 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 urban traffic
- Living in a city or town.
- Having authority or jurisdiction over a city or town.
- (US, proscribed, outdated) Relating to contemporary African American culture, especially in music.
- (US, UK, euphemistic, offensive) (of inhabitants or residents) Black; African American.
Usage notes
- The word "urban" in a musical context came to be controversial and it was described as perpetuating and reinforcing the racial stereotyping of black communities, especially black musicians, and as a "catchall for music created by Black artists, regardless of genre", leading to the music industry's replacement of it with more appropriate terms.
- "Urban" as a descriptor of black inhabitants or residents is an offensive and stereotypical usage; see Dictionary.com's "Historical usage of urban" for the explanation.
Alternative forms
- urbane (obsolete)
Antonyms
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Translations
See also
- Urbanus
References
Further reading
- “urban”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- urban in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
- “urban”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
- Braun, Buran, Rabun, aburn, buran, unabr., unbar
Esperanto
Adjective
urban
- accusative singular of urba
German
Etymology
From Latin urbanus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʊʁˈbaːn/, [ʊɐ̯ˈbaːn]
- Rhymes: -aːn
Adjective
urban (strong nominative masculine singular urbaner, comparative urbaner, superlative am urbansten)
- urban
- Synonym: städtisch
Declension
Further reading
- “urban” in Duden online
- “urban” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Latin urbanus.
Adjective
urban (neuter singular urbant, definite singular and plural urbane)
- urban
- urbane
References
- “urban” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
- “urban” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Latin urbanus.
Adjective
urban (neuter singular urbant, definite singular and plural urbane)
- urban
- urbane
References
- “urban” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Piedmontese
Alternative forms
- ürban
Etymology
From Latin urbānus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /yrˈbaŋ/
Adjective
urban
- urban
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French urbain, from Latin urbanus.
Adjective
urban m or n (feminine singular urbană, masculine plural urbani, feminine and neuter plural urbane)
- urbane
Declension
Related terms
- urbanitate
Serbo-Croatian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ûrbaːn/
- Hyphenation: ur‧ban
Adjective
ȕrbān (Cyrillic spelling у̏рба̄н, definite ȕrbānī)
- urban
Declension
Slovene
Etymology
Ultimately from Latin urbānus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /urbáːn/
Adjective
urbȃn (not comparable)
- urban
Inflection
Synonyms
- mésten
Further reading
- “urban”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2024