countercity

C3O1U1N1T1E1R1C3I1T1Y4

adjective

Targeting a city.

OriginEnglish city ← Middle English cite ← Old French citet →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

adjectivecountercity (not comparable)
  1. not comparablegovernmentTargeting a city.

    A countercity strike would be a direct and intentional attack against noncombatants, representing a violation of noncombatant immunity on a mass scale—this besides the disproportionality of the destruction such a countercity strike would entail.

    1982, Military Chaplains' Review, volumes 132-135

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Proto-Italic*komteros
  6. Proto-Italic*komterād
  7. Latincontrā
  8. Old Frenchcontre-
  9. Anglo-Normancountre-
  10. Middle Englishcounter-
  11. Englishcounter-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*ḱey-
  13. Proto-Italic*keiwis
  14. Latinceivis
  15. Latinceivitās
  16. Late Latincīvitātem (city)
  17. Old Frenchcitet
  18. Middle Englishcite
  19. Englishcity
  20. Englishcountercity

From counter- + city.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

neutrocytic
Cite this entry
APA

countercity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countercity

MLA

“countercity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countercity. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “countercity,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countercity.

Source: countercity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.