urbane

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gʰerdʰ-“to encircle, enclose; a belt; an enclosure, fence”
2. Latin · derived fromurbānus“of or belonging to a city, urban; of manners or style: like those of city dwellers: cultivated, polished, refined, sophisticated”
3. Middle French · derived fromurbain“belonging to a city, urban; courteous, refined, urbane”
4. English todayurbane

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.

Words from the same roots