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 Words From

• den·i·za·tion [den-, uh, -, zey, -sh, uh, n], den·i·zen·a·tion [den-, uh, -z, uh, -, ney, -sh, uh, n], noun
• den·i·zen·ship noun
• un·den·i·zened 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

“If you’re gonna be an a—, then you’re gonna have to say it to me and get the f— out of my show,” she told the guy — hardly the language expected from a denizen of nice-and-smiley Nashville.

From Los Angeles Times

I'm a lifelong denizen of several campuses, and I never felt comfortable hearing how ready these folks seemed with a diagnosis of life at American universities.

From Salon

In the new Yorgos Lanthimos film “Kinds of Kindness,” a character played by Emma Stone recounts a dream in which she was the denizen of a bizarre world.

From New York Times

Neeli Cherkovski, a prolific poet and denizen of beatnik cafes who chronicled the literary ethos of bohemian culture in biographies of Beat Generation writers, including his friends Charles Bukowski and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, died on March 19 in San Francisco.

From New York Times

The 48-year-old said when he was a "denizen" of the entertainment world, he was "fostered and adored and celebrated, and lived the kind of lifestyle that was kind of common for people in that arena, for single people... certainly with an appetite for a promiscuous lifestyle".

From BBC

Related Words

• dweller
• inhabitant
• occupant
• resident