Cycling Photo Challenge - Entries and Chat
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There I was thinking you were all out in the fresh air, scouring the world for pictures, and it seems everyone but old hippy has their nose stuck in a dictionary.
I chose 'Urbanity' because the OED gives three overlapping strands of meaning, all broad, so there should be plenty of scope for creativity.
This is the OED entry (from https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/220391? You may need municipal library access):
urbanity, n.
Forms: late Middle English urbanytie, late Middle English 1600s urbanitie... (Show More)
Frequency (in current use): Show frequency band information
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French urbanité; Latin urbānitāt-, urbānitās.
Etymology: Originally < Middle French urbanité (French urbanité ... (Show More)
1.
Thesaurus »
a. The character or quality of being urbane; courtesy, civility; refinement, sophistication, elegance (of manners, temper, etc.). Also in extended use.
▸ c1475 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Harl. 642) (1790) 33 (MED) Kervers and cupberers..nedeth to be well spede in taking of degree in the schole of urbanytie.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 328 Ane man he wes of greit vrbanitie.
1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. Prol. f. ii Egregiouse doctours..of your Urbanyte Exasperate nat your selfe againste me.
a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Eiij A right courtier is vertuous, gentill, and full of vrbanitie.
1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale ix. 152 Cambuscan..eyenge Giant Horbills iollite, rann at his tassant plumes vrbanitie.
1630 Pathomachia ii. ii. 15 Those things which Citizens doe vnto Strangers may seeme to proceed from Craft: but that which they practise with their Friends is Vrbanitie of manners.
1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. xxxvii His Urbanity, that is, his Good Manners, are to be commended.
1713 T. Birch in Guardian 22 Apr. 2/1 The Virtue called Urbanity by the Moralists, or a Courtly Behaviour.
1746 Gentleman's Mag. 7/2 Urbanity is a certain impression of politeness and goodness, which appears in the mind, conversation and sentiments of a person.
1777 W. Dalrymple Trav. Spain & Portugal vii He was all urbanity and good humour.
1814 W. Scott Waverley I. xi. 152 If you have no respect for the laws of urbanity . View more context for this quotation
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 439 That exquisite urbanity, so often found potent to charm away the resentment of a justly incensed nation.
1881 Eclectic Mag. May 700/1 ‘Vastly obliged, I'm sure, my dear’, he replied, with the urbanity of tone which with him portended anything but urbanity of temper.
1907 W. Raleigh Shakespeare ii. 56 He delighted..in that graciousness and urbanity of bearing which is sometimes found in his princely men.
1973 H. Essame Patton xii. 185 He certainly tried Eisenhower's forbearance and urbanity to the limit.
1996 G. Studlar This Mad Masquerade i. 13 Gracefully balancing moral gentility and primitive instincts, wilderness skills and genteel urbanity.
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b. In plural. Civilities, courtesies.
1630 B. Goodall Tryall Trauell iii. sig. I 3 Last louely posture sages noble deeme, Vrbanityes defind its an esteeme.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. vi. 23 The passages of societie and daily urbanities of our times.
1724 W. Dunkin Mezentius on Rack 11 But let this piece of Politeness pass with the ineffable Urbanities and liquid Spirit of his Longinus.
1799 Orphan Heiress v. 70 His taste and his urbanities were themes of general eulogy.
1822 J. Galt Provost xlii. 308 There is a surprising difference, in regard to the urbanities in use among those who have not yet come to authority.
1866 C. C. Felton Greece, Anc. & Mod. II. v. 71 In the urbanities of social life,..Athens was without an equal, without a second.
1966 Times 16 May 12/6 This fiery particle of radicalism..was never tamed by the urbanities of political life in London.
1995 Independent 22 Dec. 11/1 Mr Evans is not a man to cloak his feelings in diplomatic urbanities.
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†2. Sophisticated wit or humour; pleasant or witty conversation or language. Obsolete.Often, and esp. in later use, difficult to distinguish from sense 1a.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 48v Whiche woordes yet for all that bee more full of galle, then to bee conueniente for Aristippus, whose vrbanitee & merieconceipted woordes are not of so poynaunte a sorte.
a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Bjv Then grudge not at all, if in my behauiour: I make the Kinge mery, with pleasant vrbanitie.
1640 E. Reynolds Treat. Passions xxi. 214 Men are delighted..with Elegancies, Tests, Vrbanity, and Flowers of wit.
1656 E. Reyner Rules Govt. Tongue 223 Use Recreational speeches;..this is urbanity, or pleasantness of speech.
1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. xxxii Moral Doctrine, says he, and Urbanity, or well-manner'd Wit,..constitute the Roman Satire.
1750 J. Dunn tr. C. F. Lambert Coll. Curious Observ. II. ix. 92 A vast number of varied or feign'd histories..discover a very fine and delicate taste, since wit, manners, urbanity, lively descriptions, characters and contrasts, concur to render them beautiful.
1845 A. Barnes Epist. Paul v. 109/1 Εὐτραπελία..urbanity, wit, humour.
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3. The state, condition, or character of a town or city; urban life.rare before the late 19th cent.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 34 Tha detestit vrbanite and desirit to lyue in villagis.
1789 W. Belsham Ess. I. xvii. 328 The serenity, the elegance and urbanity of Paris.
1818 Analectic Mag. Apr. 305 He displays man and nature..in characters not the less easily recognized for the wildness, the rusticity, or the urbanity of the situation.
1877 R. Martineau tr. Goldziher Mythol. Hebrews iv. 83 This trait of glorification of the old-fashioned Beduin-life, to the disparagement of the free urbanity of the townsmen.
1898 F. W. Maitland Township & Borough 13 A difference between..urbanity and rusticity.
1963 J. Morris Road to Huddersfield i. 15 The desire for weekend cottages comes late in a society's lurching progress toward utter urbanity.
2002 N. Bullock Building Post-war World vi. 135/2 His central charge was the failure to create the urbanitynecessary to the idea of a town.
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This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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OED2 (1989)
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Last edited:
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
'Tis done.
Phew!! 😂
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
FrothNinja
Veteran
Urban enough? Near the 1st Milepost at the Liverpool end of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Steve is quite urbane company.
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
It certainly seems to be in town, but does Steve's urbanity show in the image? Looks more like trepidation.
With which remark I shall resume the customary adjudicator's omertà, so as not to hinder the creative development of the theme.
Dave 123
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire alps
A housing estate for moo cows
yo vanilla
Senior Member
- Location
- WI, USA
From the virtual world again. Even if I had a half pleasant day for a ride, which there have been one or two, they throw down so much road salt here I wouldn't want to take a bike out in that. So just for fun, doesn't need to be counted in the running...
yo vanilla
Senior Member
- Location
- WI, USA
And for a visual of what I mean, granted this is a little more extreme, but still:
