citizen

citizen

a native registered or naturalized member of a state, nation, or other political community

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

citizen

any member of a political community or STATE who enjoys clear rights and duties associated with this membership, i.e. who is not merely a 'Subject’. Until modern times, with only a few exceptions, citizenship was typically restricted to a relatively narrow group within a political community, or was entirely absent. In the modern NATION STATE, however, not only has citizenship become the usual pattern, but the number of people admitted to this status has expanded, with universal suffrage and full CITIZEN RIGHTS established as the normal pattern.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000