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Origin and history of suburb

suburb(n.)

early 14c., "outlying area of a town or city, area just outside the walls," whether agricultural or residential but frequently residential, from Old French suburbe "suburb of a town," from Latin suburbium "an outlying part of a city" (especially Rome), from sub "below, near" (see sub-) + urbs (genitive urbis) "city" (see urban).

Usually plural. Glossed in Old English as underburg. Lying just beyond the reach of municipal jurisdiction, suburbs had a bad reputation in 17c. England, especially those of London, and suburban had a sense of "inferior, debased, licentious" (as in suburban sinner, slang for "loose woman, prostitute"). By 1817, the tinge had shifted to "of inferior manners and narrow views." Compare also French equivalent faubourg.

[T]he growth of the metropolis throws vast numbers of people into distant dormitories where ... life is carried on without the discipline of rural occupations and without the cultural resources that the Central District of the city still retains. [Lewis Mumford, 1922]

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to suburb

faubourg(n.)

"suburb," late 15c. (early 15c. fabour), from Old French forsbourc, faubourg (12c.) "suburbs, outskirts," literally "that which is outside the town," from fors "outside" (from Latin foris; see foreign) + bourc "town" (a word of Frankish origin cognate with English borough). Altered in French by folk-etymology to faux bourg "false town" (suburbs were seen as inauthentic).

urban(adj.)

"characteristic of city life, pertaining to cities or towns," 1610s (but rare before 1830s), from Latin urbanus "of or pertaining to a city or city life; in Rome," also "in city fashion, polished, refined, cultivated, courteous," but also sometimes "witty, facetious, bold, impudent;" as a noun, "city dweller," from urbs (genitive urbis) "city, walled town," a word of unknown origin.

The adjective urban gradually emerged in this sense as urbane became restricted to manners and styles of expression, but originally urban also could mean "civil, courteous in manners."

Urban sprawl is recorded by 1958. Urban blight is attested by 1919. Urban renewal, euphemistic for "slum clearance," is attested from 1954, as a new U.S. program to improve low-income housing. In late 20c. American English, urban acquired a suggestion of "African-American."

Urban legend is attested by 1980.

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More to explore

suburbia
"the suburbs," 1874, British English, at first generally in reference to London; from suburb + -ia, perhaps on the model of utopia. THE NIGHT NOISES OF "SUBURBIA."—The night passes calmly until the crescent moon, rising over the housetops, sheds its light on a scene of tranquili
mobile
Then, before a half block of this Chicago suburb had slipped by, I was in contact with my New York office....
lyceum
1580s, Latin form of Greek lykeion, name of a grove or garden with covered walks in the eastern suburb of ancient Athens,...
community
late 14c., "a number of people associated together by the fact of residence in the same locality," also "the common people" (not the rulers or the clergy), from Old French comunité "community, commonness, everybody" (Modern French communauté), from Latin communitatem (nominative
finger
"terminal or digital member of the hand" (in a restricted sense not including the thumb), Old English finger, fingor "finger," from Proto-Germanic *fingraz (source also of Old Saxon fingar, Old Frisian finger, Old Norse fingr, Dutch vinger, German Finger, Gothic figgrs "finger"),
fringe
early 14c., "ornamental bordering; material for a fringe," from Old French frenge "thread, strand, fringe, hem, border" (early 14c.), from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, metathesis of Late Latin fimbria, from Latin fimbriae (plural) "fibers, threads, fringe," which is of uncertain origin
area
1530s, "vacant piece of ground," from Latin area "level ground, open space," used of building sites, playgrounds, threshing floors, etc.; which is of uncertain origin. Perhaps an irregular derivation from arere "to become dry" (see arid), on notion of "bare space cleared by burni
metaphor
"figure of speech by which a characteristic of one object is assigned to another, different but resembling  it or analogous to it; comparison by transference of a descriptive word or phrase," late 15c., methaphoris (plural), from French metaphore (Old French metafore, 13c.)
hocus-pocus
magical formula used in conjuring, 1630s, earlier Hocas Pocas, common name of a magician or juggler (1620s); a sham-Latin invocation used by jugglers, perhaps based on a perversion of the sacramental blessing from the Mass, Hoc est corpus meum "This is my body." The first to make
prowess
early 13c., prouesse, "an act of bravery;" c. 1300, "military bravery combined with skill in combat," from Old French proece "prowess, courage, brave deed" (Modern French prouesse), from prou, later variant of prud "brave, valiant," from Vulgar Latin *prodem (source also of Spani

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