different between city vs precinct

English

Alternative forms

• cyte (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English city, citie, citee, cite, from Old French cité, from Latin c?vit?s (“citizenry; community; a city with its hinterland”), from c?vis (“native; townsman; citizen”), from Proto-Indo-European *?ey- (“to lie down, settle; home, family; love; beloved”).

Cognate with Old English h?wan pl (“members of one's household, servants”). See hewe. Doublet of civitas.

Displaced native Middle English burgh, borough (“fortified town; incorporated city”) and sted, stede (“place, stead; city”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?ti/
• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /s?t?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?s??i/
• Rhymes: -?ti
• Hyphenation: ci?ty

Noun

city (plural cities)

1. A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes with a specific legal definition, depending on the place.

   • So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
2. (Britain) A settlement granted special status by royal charter or letters patent; traditionally, a settlement with a cathedral regardless of size.
   • 1976, Cornelius P. Darcy, The Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Lancashire, 1760-1860, Manchester University Press (?ISBN), page 20

     Manchester, incorporated in 1838, was made the centre of a bishopric in 1847 and became a city in 1853. Liverpool was transformed into a city by Royal Charter when the new diocese of Liverpool was created in 1880.

   • 2014, Graham Rutt, Cycling Britain's Cathedrals Volume 1, Lulu.com (?ISBN), page 307

     St Davids itself is the smallest city in Great Britain, with a population of less than 2,000.

3. (Australia) The central business district; downtown.

4. (slang) A large amount of something (used after the noun).

   It's video game city in here!

Hypernyms

• settlement

Derived terms

Pages starting with “city”.

Related terms

• civic
• civil

Descendants

• ? French: City
• ? German: City
• ? Italian: city
• ? Swedish: city

Translations

See also

• metropolis
• megalopolis
• megacity
• multicity

Further reading

• "city" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 55.

Anagrams

• ICTY

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?t?s?t?]

Noun

city

1. nominative/accusative/vocative/instrumental plural of cit

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English city. Doublet of città.

Noun

city f (invariable)

1. city (financial district of a city)

Derived terms

• city bike
• city car
• city manager

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English city.

Pronunciation

Noun

city n

1. inner city, the commercial centre of a medium-sized or larger city

   Lite närmare city, i närheten av konstmuseet, ligger Norrköpings mest attraktiva lägenheter.

   A little closer to the town centre, next to the art museum, you'll find Norrköping's most attractive apartments.

   Det finns mycket att förbättra i vårt city.

   There are many things that need improvement in our inner city.

Usage notes

• centrum is used for the commercial centre of suburbs and small or medium-sized towns.

Synonyms

• centrum
• innerstad

English

Alternative forms

• præcinct (chiefly obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English precinct, precincte, early 15th century, in sense of “district for government purposes”, from Medieval Latin precinctum, alternative form of praecinctum (“enclosure, boundary line”), neuter singular of praecinctus, perfect passive participle of Latin praecing? (“surround, gird”), from prae (“before”) + cing? (“surround, encircle”), from which also cinch.

Cognate to Italian precingere (“to encircle”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: pr?'s?ngkt, IPA^(key): /?p?is??kt/

Noun

precinct (plural precincts)

1. (chiefly in the plural) An enclosed space having defined limits, normally marked by walls.
2. (Britain) A pedestrianized and uncovered shopping area.
3. (US, law enforcement) A subdivision of a city under the jurisdiction of a specific group of police; the police station situated in that district.
4. (US) A subdivision of a city or town for the purposes of voting and representation in city or town government. In cities, precincts may be grouped into wards.

Translations

References