fellow-citizen
Definition
- Noun:
- A person who is a citizen of the same country or political community as another; a compatriot. This term emphasizes a shared legal or national identity rather than mere geographical proximity.
Usage Examples
- (A person who shares the same national citizenship.)
- (People who are citizens of the same city or country.)
Advanced Usage
- "to treat someone as a fellow-citizen": to regard someone with the rights and obligations owed to a member of the same polity.
- In a democracy, we must treat all residents as fellow-citizens, not as outsiders. (To acknowledge shared civic status.)
Variants and Related Words
- Fellow citizen (noun phrase): an alternative spelling (often hyphenated as "fellow-citizen").
- Citizen (n): a legally recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth.
- He is a proud citizen of Canada. (A legal member of a nation.)
- Citizenship (n): the status of being a citizen.
- She applied for citizenship after living there for five years. (The legal condition of being a citizen.)
Synonyms
- Compatriot: a person from the same country.
- We met a compatriot at the embassy. (A fellow countryman.)
- Countryman: a person from one's own country.
- He greeted his countryman warmly. (A fellow national.)
Related Idioms
- A fellow-citizen in arms: a fellow soldier or comrade in a military context (archaic).
- They fought side by side as fellow-citizens in arms. (Comrades in battle.)
Phrasal Verbs
- None directly associated with "fellow-citizen." The term is typically used as a fixed noun phrase.
Additional Notes
- The hyphen in "fellow-citizen" is common but not mandatory; "fellow citizen" (without hyphen) is also accepted in modern usage. The hyphenated form emphasizes the compound nature of the word, linking "fellow" (meaning "shared") with "citizen."