cosmopolitan

English

WOTD – 1 October 2006

Etymology

From cosmopolite +‎ -an. Compare metropolitan and megalopolitan.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌkɒz.məˈpɒl.ɪ.tən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑz.məˈpɑl.ɪ.tən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

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Adjective

cosmopolitan (comparative more cosmopolitan, superlative most cosmopolitan)

1. Inclusive; affecting the whole world.
2. (of a place or institution) Composed of people from all over the world.
3. (of a person) At ease in any part of the world; familiar with many cultures.
   • 2013 November 25, Caroline Ferguson, “What kind of global citizens are teachers creating?”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     The philosophy of cosmopolitanism underlies theories of global citizenship. Cosmopolitanism is the ability to balance a local and global identity. A cosmopolitan individual engages meaningfully with different cultures and feels at home in the world.

4. (biology, ecology) Growing or living in many parts of the world; widely distributed.
   • 2005, David K. Yeates, Brian M. Wiegmann, The Evolutionary Biology of Flies, page 372:

     Domestication and the evolution of anthrophilic traits in houseflies and some drosophilids have allowed certain species to attain cosmopolitan status.

Derived terms

• Afrocosmopolitan
• Afropolitan
• cosmopolitanise
• cosmopolitanism
• cosmopolitanist
• cosmopolitanize
• cosmopolitanly
• cosmopolitanness
• countrypolitan
• noncosmopolitan
• subcosmopolitan
• ultracosmopolitan

 

Translations

all-inclusive — see all-inclusive

composed of people from all over the world

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: касмапаліты́чны (kasmapalitýčny)
• Bulgarian: космополитен (bg) (kosmopoliten)
• Catalan: cosmopolita
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大都会的, 世界性的

• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: kansainvälinen (fi)
• French: cosmopolite (fr)
• German: kosmopolitisch (de), weltbürgerlich
• Hebrew: כלל־עולמי m (klal-olamí), קוסמופוליטי (he) m (kosmopolíti)
• Hungarian: kozmopolita (hu)
• Italian: cosmopolita (it)
• Macedonian: космопо́литски (kosmopólitski)
• Manx: yl-çheeragh
• Polish: kosmopolityczny (pl) m
• Portuguese: cosmopolita (pt), cosmopolitano
• Russian: космополити́чный (ru) (kosmopolitíčnyj), космополити́ческий (ru) (kosmopolitíčeskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: os-nàiseanta
• Spanish: cosmopolita (es)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: космополіти́чний (kosmopolitýčnyj)
• Yiddish: קאָזמאָפּאָליטיש (kozmopolitish)

at ease in any part of the world

• Belarusian: касмапаліты́чны (kasmapalitýčny)
• Bulgarian: космополитен (bg) (kosmopoliten)
• Catalan: cosmopolita
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 四海为家的

• Finnish: kosmopoliittinen, maailmankansalainen (fi)
• French: cosmopolite (fr)
• German: kosmopolitisch (de), weltbürgerlich
• Hungarian: kozmopolita (hu), világpolgári (hu)
• Italian: cosmopolita (it)
• Manx: yl-çheeragh
• Polish: kosmopolityczny (pl) m
• Portuguese: cosmopolita (pt), cosmopolitano
• Russian: космополити́чный (ru) (kosmopolitíčnyj), космополити́ческий (ru) (kosmopolitíčeskij)
• Ukrainian: космополіти́чний (kosmopolitýčnyj)

growing in many parts of the world; widely distributed

• Belarusian: касмапаліты́чны (kasmapalitýčny)
• Bulgarian: широко разпространен (široko razprostranen)
• Catalan: cosmopolita
• Finnish: yleismaailmallinen (fi)
• French: cosmopolite (fr)
• German: kosmopolitisch (de), weltbürgerlich
• Manx: yl-çheeragh
• Polish: kosmopolityczny (pl) m
• Portuguese: cosmopolita (pt), cosmopolitano
• Russian: космополити́чный (ru) (kosmopolitíčnyj)
• Ukrainian: космополіти́чний (kosmopolitýčnyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} cosmopolite (fr)

Noun

cosmopolitan (sense 2)

cosmopolitan (plural cosmopolitans)

1. A cosmopolitan person; a cosmopolite.
   • 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 3, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 25:

     'She is extremely rich. A cosmopolitan.'

2. A cocktail containing vodka, triple sec, lime juice and cranberry juice.

   Synonym: (clipping) cosmo

3. (Canada, US, dated) A butterfly of species Vanessa cardui.

   Synonyms: cosmopolite, painted lady

4. A moth of species Leucania loreyi.

Derived terms

• rootless cosmopolitan

Translations

cosmopolite — see cosmopolite

cocktail

• Japanese: コスモポリタン (ja) (kosumoporitan)
• Swedish: cosmopolitan c

Swedish

Noun

cosmopolitan c

1. cosmopolitan (drink)