urbis

urbis is the genitive singular form of the Latin noun urbs, which means “city.” In classical Latin, urbs designates a city, often a large or fortified one, and it is closely linked with the idea of urban life and civic affairs. The term is frequently used with Rome in mind, though it can refer to cities in general. As a third-declension feminine noun, its other forms include urbs (nominative plural), urbes (accusative plural), urbium (genitive plural), urbibus (dative and ablative plural), and the singulars urbs, urbis, urbi, urbem, urbe.

In Latin discourse, urbs appears in a variety of fixed phrases. Urbi et Orbi, a classic papal blessing, translates roughly to “to the city and to the world,” with urbi in the dative. The city of Rome is often described with epithets such as Urbs Roma (the City, Rome) and Urbs Aeterna (the Eternal City), underscoring Rome’s symbolic status in antiquity and later tradition.

Grammatical and semantic notes: urbis signals possession or relationship when paired with another noun (for example, domus urbis = “the house of the city”). The term also helps distinguish urban from rural notions in Latin texts, where urbanus (adj.) means “of the city” or “urban,” and is the linguistic ancestor of many English words such as urban, urbanism, and urbane.

Today, urbis survives primarily in historical, religious, or linguistic contexts. Its influence persists through Latin heritage and through the modern vocabulary shaped by Latin roots.