Dictionary Definition
urbanity n : polished courtesy; elegance of
manner
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
Likely from urbane + -ityPronunciation
- a UK /ɜː(ɹ)ˈbeɪn.ɪ.ti/ /3:(r)"beIn.I.ti/
Noun
Extensive Definition
Urbanity refers to the characteristics, personality traits, and
viewpoints associated with cities and urban areas.
People who can be described as having urbanity are also referred to
as citified. The word is related to the Latin urbanitas with
connotations of refinement and elegance, the opposite of
rusticus, associated with the countryside. In Latin the
word referred originally to the view of the world from ancient
Rome. The name Urban
has been taken as a papal name by
nine popes and referred to
the location of the Holy See at the
Vatican in
Rome and the pope's status as Bishop of
Rome. Urbane has a similar meaning; Oxford
English Dictionary notes that the relationship of urbane to
urban is similar to the relationship humane bears to human.
http://www.ablemedia.com/ctcweb/glossary/glossaryu.html
In language, urbanity still connotes a smooth and
literate style, free of barbarisms
and other infelicities. In antiquity, schools of rhetoric flourished only in the
atmosphere of large cities, to which privileged students flocked
from smaller cities in order to gain polish.
Modern concepts of "urbanism"
'Urbanity' as a word has also been used in recent
years to describe the 'insanity' of urban life, as in the novel
Urbanity by Francis Murphy.
See also
References
- Lewis Mumford, The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects
External links
- Urbanity: a historical perspective
- Sixth International Conference on Urban History: Power, Knowledge and Society in the City, Edinburgh September 5 - 7, 2002
urbanity in Norwegian: Urbanitet
urbanity in Swedish: Urbanitet