denizen

[ den-uh-zuhn ]
See synonyms for denizen on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an inhabitant; resident.

  2. a person who regularly frequents a place; habitué: the denizens of a local bar.

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

  2. 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.

Origin of denizen

1
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; see dedans) + -ein, adjective suffix (from Latin -āneus; see -an, -eous)

Other words from denizen

  • den·i·za·tion [den-uh-zey-shuhn], /ˌdɛn əˈzeɪ ʃən/, den·i·zen·a·tion [den-uh-zuh-ney-shuhn], /ˌdɛn ə zəˈneɪ ʃən/, noun
  • den·i·zen·ship, noun
  • un·den·i·zened, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for denizen

denizen

/ (ˈdɛnɪzən) /


noun
  1. an inhabitant; occupant; resident

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

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

  2. a naturalized foreign word

verb
  1. (tr) to make a denizen

Origin of denizen

1
C15: from Anglo-French denisein, from Old French denzein, from denz within, from Latin de intus from within

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012