urbanity

From Middle French urbanité, from Latin urbanitas, from urbanus (“belonging to a city”), with a sense of "having the manners of townspeople" in Classical Latin, from urbs (“city”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əːˈbæn.ɪ.ti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɝˈbæn.ə.ti/

urbanity (countable and uncountable, plural urbanities)

1. Behaviour that is polished, refined, courteous.
   • 1825, Washington Irving, "Paris at the Restoration", The Crayon Papers,

     The vaunted courtesy of the old school, the smooth urbanity that prevailed in former days […]

   • 1864, Sheridan Le Fanu, Wylder's Hand, Chapter XLVII,

     Wealdon's two little visits explained perfectly the active urbanities of Captain Stanley Lake.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 9, in The China Governess‎:

     Eustace gaped at him in amazement. When his urbanity dropped away from him, as now, he had an innocence of expression which was almost infantile. It was as if the world had never touched him at all.

2. What is characteristically urban in an area; urbanness.
   • 1955, C.J. Lammers, Studies in Holland flood disaster 1953, vol. 2, p. 39,

     […] , the majority of cases will differ as to "urbanity", as most of the evacuees were rural.

   • 1956, Fred C. Iklé & Harry V. Kincaid, "Social Aspects of Wartime Evacuation of American Cities", Disaster Study, vol 4., p. 44,

     Evacuees, the majority of whom were rural persons, reported more tensions as the urbanity of the reception community increased

• rurality

• Tyburnia