How Do You Define a Citizen? Essay -- Definition

How Do You Define a Citizen?Dictionary Library. Ottenheimer Publishers, Inc., 1966 ed.Citizen - An indweller of a city a penis of a state having the rights and duties of a citizen.Websters New World Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition. The World Publishing Company, 1962 ed.Citizen - An inhabitant of a city or (often) of a town esp. one possessing polite rights and privileges, to burgess or freeman of a city.1. formerly, a native or inhabitant, especially a freeman or burgess, of a town or city hence,2. loosely, a native, inhabitant, or denizen of any place.3. a member of a state or nation, especially one with a republican form of government, who gives allegiance to it by birth or naturalization and is authorize to full civil rights4. a civilian, as distinguished from a somebody in military service, a policeman, etc.Oxford slope Dictionary. Claredon Press, 1989Citizen - 1. An inhabitant of a city or (often) of a town esp. one possessing civic rights and privileges , a burgess or freeman of a city.Being a citizen is something most(prenominal) people dont think rough. In many countries citizenship is yet a matter of nationality they were born in a certain surface area and therefore belong to that country. They may be forced to defend it, save they may not get any special rights because of it. We in the unite States are lucky in that citizenship here includes rights such as voter turnout and running for office. Citizenship is something very important that we take for granted.What is a citizen?The word, citizen comes from the word city. The Oxford English dictionarys definition seems to be the original one, an inhabitant of a city. Websters dictionary ... ...s, usually on or around the fourthly of July. As citizens of this country we are entitled to all the rights that are listed in the Constitution, yet many people are not even aware of what those rights are. Jay Leno interviewed people on the street one night and asked them simple que stions about our government (number of senators, representatives, etc.). Most of them couldnt give the correct answers. We need a lot more education about what it means to be a U.S. citizen.So, a word that began as a description of a soul who lives in a city has grown to mean a someone who also lives in a state, in a country, and in the world. In addition, it includes all the rights, privileges, and duties that this person has as a citizen, especially if he lives in a republic. Even though we seldom think about it, existence a citizen is one of the most important parts of our lives.