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Cosmopolitan

The term cosmopolitan refers to an individual who retains cultural roots in his or her country of origin, yet has adopted a wide taste for other cultures, and so lives both a "local" and "global" life. The term is derived from Greek cosmos, the global, and polis, the old Greek city-states (the local).

  • It is sometimes misused to mean only "the global", either as a person who is seasoned in ways of the world, or as an adjective, to describe something with a far-reaching impact.
  • As Cosmopolitanism--a socio-political stance or movement regarding all persons in all nations as members of a single global community. Contrast with nationalism.
  • It is sometimes used by antisemites as an euphemism for Jew. Stalin used a variant of this; rootless cosmopolitan.
  • In biology, cosmopolitan refers to an animal or plant found all over the world, under wide-ranging ecological conditions.
  • As a synonym for worldly or sophisticated .
  • Also a popular magazine. See Cosmopolitan Magazine.
  • A cosmopolitan also refers to a cocktail made with vodka, cranberry juice, and orange liquor.




07-14-2008 23:18:10
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