denizen

[den-uh-zuhn]

noun

1. an inhabitant; resident.

2. a person who regularly frequents a place; habitué.

   the denizens of a local bar.

3. anything adapted to a new place, condition, etc., such as an animal or plant not indigenous to a place but successfully naturalized.

4. British Law.,  an alien admitted to residence and to certain rights of citizenship in a country: this legal designation has been obsolete since the first half of the 20th century.

verb (used with object)

1. Chiefly British.,  to admit (an alien) to residence and certain rights of citizenship in a country.

denizen

/ ˈdɛnɪzən /

noun

1. an inhabitant; occupant; resident

2. an individual permanently resident in a foreign country where he enjoys certain rights of citizenship

3. a plant or animal established in a place to which it is not native

4. a naturalized foreign word

verb

1. (tr) to make a denizen

Other Word Forms

• denization noun
• denizenation noun
• denizenship noun
• undenizened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of denizen¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English denesyn, denisein, from Anglo-French denzein, denszein “(the) one within,” from deinz, dens, denz “inside, on the inside” (from Old French dedens, dedenz; dedans ) + -ein, adjective suffix (from Latin -āneus; -an, -eous ( def. ) )

Word History and Origins

Origin of denizen¹

C15: from Anglo-French denisein, from Old French denzein, from denz within, from Latin de intus from within

Example Sentences

This denizen of the cloud forests shares pedigree with a fabled deity: Quetzalcoatl, the “Feathered Serpent.”

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That’s because in a small, rural village located 90 miles southwest of Toronto, the denizens of Beachville, Ontario, were already running the bases—all five of them—in an early version of North America’s pastime.

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Reported taxable income by wealthy denizens who didn’t leave also declined, perhaps because they used other means to shield their income from higher taxes or reduced their business activity in the state.

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Within hours of arriving in Venice, he begins to suspect that the city itself, with its disorienting streets and shady denizens, is somehow in cahoots with his sphinxlike wife to betray him.

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And that people who live in rural areas had a slightly steeper drop in pleasure reading than urban denizens over the last two decades.

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Related Words

• dweller 
• inhabitant 
• occupant 
• resident