Cosmopolitan

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Derived from Greek cosmos (the world) and polis (city), cosmopolitan describes something influenced by many cultures from around the world. Applied to people, a cosmopolitan is someone who has adopted a taste for cultures besides the one he or she was born into; thus living both a local and global life as a "citizen of the world." It is mostly agreed upon that identification with a world community is the core of the cosmopolitanism. The first one to define himself as a "kosmou polites" was Diogenes the Cynic who as "a citizen of the world" would seek attachments beyond the local ones, disregarding the importance given to 'accidentally' obtained concepts of gender, place of birth, place of residence and so on.

  • 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. However, it is argued by many scholars that a multicultural context, multiculturalism, is a necessity for people to develop a cosmopolitan identity.
  • As Cosmopolitanism—a socio-political stance or movement regarding all persons in all nations as members of a single global community. Contrast with nationalism. Actually, the relationship between cosmopolitanism and nationalism is not a simple one. Research so far has not produced data that unambigiously support the idea that cosmopolitanism and nationalism are opposites, despite a shown negative relation between the two. The fact that there exist several different understandings of both nationalism and cosmopolitanism does not make it easier to comprehend the relationship between the two concepts.
  • Cosmopolitan identity would, as all other identities, be contextual and situated. This might mean that while feeling quite cosmopolitan in a situation, a person could act, for example, as a nationalist in a different context.
  • As a synonym for worldly or sophisticated.
  • 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, like the cosmopolite butterfly (Vanessa cardui).
  • Cosmopolitan Magazine, a fashion magazine
    • Cosmopolitan (television), a satellite/cable channel owned by the above magazine
  • Cosmopolitan cocktail, a cocktail made with vodka, cranberry juice, and orange liquor
  • The Cosmopolitan is a resort and casino under construction in Las Vegas, Nevada
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