My students were using the word cosmopolitan recently.  I think it's a nice word. The etymology is pretty straight forward.  Surprise, surprise--it's Greek and comes from kosmos  which means "world" and polis which means "city."

So when it's all put together a cosmopolitan is a "citizen of the world."  Cosmopolitan can be either a noun or an adjective.

When I looked up the definition in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary (because I like to do things like this and I think dictionaries are great), I couldn't help but laugh the definition for the cosmopolitan as a now is this: <a href="//www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cosmopolitan&quot;&gt;cosmopolitan&lt;/a&gt;">cosmoplite</a> (yep, that's a cosmopolitan person).

Luckily, the adjective definition is much, much more helpful.
<blockquote>
<div>Main Entry: <strong><sup>2</sup>cosmopolitan</strong></div>
<div>Function:  <em>adjective</em></div>
<div>Date: 1798</div>
<strong>1</strong> <strong>:</strong> having worldwide rather than limited or provincial scope or bearing
<strong>2</strong> <strong>:</strong> having wide international sophistication <strong>:</strong> <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worldly">worldly</a>
<strong>3</strong> <strong>:</strong> composed of persons, constituents, or elements from all or many parts of the world</blockquote>
Here's to adjectives!

At this point, I think I need to clarify that this is not just a blog post on the etymology and definition of a single word.  Even though, I see nothing wrong with that.

Rather this is now a post where I am going to lament the loss of the word.<!--more-->

This word cosmopolitan is, in many ways, the perfect word for me. I am living in the world--neither fully American in my view of the world nor Bulgarian. I am concerned about global issues. I am an American abroad.  Most would probably call me an expat but I don't think of myself as an expat in the classical meaning. I've not been exiled here. Banished to Bulgaria. I am not planning on renouncing my allegiance to my country any time soon (thanks, Barack Obama).

But this word cosmopolitan, which seems perfect, has been usurped by a women's magazine dedicated to fashion and sex and a cocktail--both of the same name: cosmopolitan. Today, at least in my mind, the word cosmopolitan has become steeped in shades of pink, the now all too familiar font Franklin Gothic Extra condensed of the magazine's name and the ubiquitous drink: mix 2 parts lemon vodka to one part triple sec combined with one part cranberry and the juice of half a lime. It's not a word that in good conscious I can use.

So, that's that. I've lost a perfectly good word to a women's magazine and a cocktail. I guess it could be worse.  But then again, who knows, maybe I'll use it tonight. I mean, after all of this discussion of the word a cosmopolitan is sounding pretty good right now.