denizen

someone who resides in, or often visits a particular place

TRANSLATION

denizen = der/die Einwohner/Einwohnerin, der/die Bewohner/Bewohnerin, der/die Stammgast/Stammgäste --- GOOGLE INDEX denizen: approximately 2,000,000 Google hits

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

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Amongst the colourful DENIZENS of the Oxfordshire music scene resides the small, yet potently rich, Hip Hop, Dubstep and Drum & Bass set.

(BBC News)

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New findings suggest that the mysterious DENIZENS of the deep may, like whales, be damaged by humans surveying the sea bed.

(New Scientist magazine)

Did you
know?

denizen
noun

- a person, animal, or plant that lives or is found in a particular place

- a foreigner allowed certain rights in their adopted country (chiefly British)

(Oxford Dictionaries)

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Denizen is from the 15th century and stems from the Anglo-French deinzein and Middle English denisein, meaning "within, inside." These derive further from the Late Latin deintus (de = from + intus = within).

Historically, denizen referred to an alien given certain rights of citizenship, or a naturalized citizen, a term used mainly by the British. This usage is illustrated by an entry from the 1832 edition of the Webster’s Dictionary:

1. In England, an alien who is made a subject by the King’s letters patent, holding a middle state between an alien and a natural born subject. He may take land by purchase or devise, which an alien cannot; but he cannot take by inheritance.

Denizen can also be used to describe people, plants or animals. The plural form – denizens - is very common. When referring to people, it might mean the residents of a town, city, state or country (The denizens of New Orleans are preparing for the annual Mardi Gras celebration) or of a place frequented by someone (The denizens of the bar stayed until closing time).

In ecology, a denizen is an animal or plant naturalized in a region (Scientists are examining the denizens of the forest). Denizen is also used as a transitive verb in the form "to make a denizen of" (The refugees were made denizens after six months).

That denizen and its synonym "citizen" have the same ending is no coincidence. Citizen stems from the Anglo-French citezein and Old French citejen (city or town dweller), but the spelling was subsequently altered (-zen) through the influence of denizen.

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SYNONYMS

dweller, inhabitant, occupant, citizen, habitant, native, reside, aborigine

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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation

"You'll find a lot of artists among the denizens of the south side of town.."

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