Meanings
- not comparableOf or pertaining to a location which has both urban and rural characteristics.
The rurban community offers greater possibilities of social stratification than does the open country community.
1926, John M. Gillette, “Community Concepts”, in Social Forces, volume 4, number 4, page 6862 more examples
There exists what has come to be called the "rurban fringe," an area occupied by tar paper shacks and stately estates, large commercial farms and one-acre part-time farms, golf courses and cemeteries, airports and obnoxious industries.
1946, Walter Firey, “Ecological Considerations in Planning for Rurban Fringes”, in American Sociological Review, volume 11, number 4, page 413In the lands of the Indian Ocean ‘agrarian cities’ and ‘rurban’ settlements of all sizes were the general rule throughout the medieval period.
2002, Andre Wink, “From the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean: Medieval History in Geographic Perspective”, in Comparative Studies in Society and History, volume 44, number 3, page 428
Origin
Blend of rural + urban, early 20th c.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French rurbain
- rurbainof a location which has both urban and rural characteristics
Spanish rurbano
- rurbanoof a location which has both urban and rural characteristics
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with rurban
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
rurban. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rurban
“rurban.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rurban. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rurban,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rurban.
Source: rurban on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.