cos·mop·o·lite

(kŏz-mŏp′ə-līt′)

1. A cosmopolitan person: a true cosmopolite—a Renaissance man.

2. Ecology An organism found in most parts of the world.

[Greek kosmopolītēs : kosmos, world + polītēs, citizen (from polis, city; see pelə- in Indo-European roots).]

cos·mop′o·lit′ism (-lī-tĭz′əm, -lĭ-tĭz′-) n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cosmopolite

(kɒzˈmɒpəˌlaɪt)

1. a less common word for cosmopolitan¹

2. (Biology) an animal or plant that occurs in most parts of the world

cosˈmopoliˌtism n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cos•mop•o•lite

(kɒzˈmɒp əˌlaɪt)

n.

1. a person who is sophisticated in outlook, lifestyle, etc.

2. an animal or plant of worldwide distribution.

[1590–1600; < Greek kosmopolitēs citizen of the world =kosmo- cosmo- + politēs citizen]

cos•mop′o•lit•ism, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

cosmopolite - a sophisticated person who has travelled in many countries

cosmopolitan

globetrotter, world traveler - someone who travels widely and often

man of the world, sophisticate - a worldly-wise person

Translations

wereldburger

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

And then a cosmopolite sat in one of them, and I was glad, for I held a theory that since Adam no true citizen of the world has existed.

I was sure that I had found at last the one true cosmopolite since Adam, and I listened to his worldwide discourse fearful lest I should discover in it the local note of the mere globe-trotter.

"You seem to be a genuine cosmopolite," I said admiringly.

My cosmopolite made a large adieu and left me, for he thought he saw some one through the chatter and smoke whom he knew.

I sat reflecting upon my evident cosmopolite and wondering how the poet had managed to miss him.

My cosmopolite was sustaining the pride and reputation of the Earth when the waiters closed in on both combatants with their famous flying wedge formation and bore them outside, still resisting.

View in context

I freely assert, that the cosmopolite philosopher cannot, for his life, point out one single peaceful influence, which within the last sixty years has operated more potentially upon the whole broad world, taken in one aggregate, than the high and mighty business of whaling.

View in context

The travellers were at first completely taken by surprise, and could not but admire the facility with which this ragged cosmopolite made himself at home among them.

View in context

My kingdom is bounded only by the world, for I am not an Italian, or a Frenchman, or a Hindu, or an American, or a Spaniard -- I am a cosmopolite. No country can say it saw my birth.

View in context

The wild goose is more of a cosmopolite than we; he breaks his fast in Canada, takes a luncheon in the Ohio, and plumes himself for the night in a southern bayou.

View in context

They considered the moon alone to be inhabited: they imagined it was the real heart of the universe or planetary system, on which the genuine Cosmopolites, or citizens of the world, dwelt.

View in context

We were Berkshire, or Gloucestershire, or Yorkshire boys; and you're young cosmopolites, belonging to all countries and no countries.

View in context