Citywise

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Considered city by city, with each urban area treated on its own terms ; spread across the whole of a city as a general pattern
2. Judged or organized on a basis of separate cities ; happening throughout the entirety of an urban area
3. Relating to a city as a unit, or taken one city after another in turn

Etymology: "Citywise" is a plain English formation: the noun "city" with the suffix "-wise," meaning "in the manner or direction of," so the whole word means "in the direction of the city" or "with respect to the city." The suffix comes from Old English "wise," meaning "manner" or "way," which is the same root that gives us "likewise" and "otherwise." English has used "-wise" to coin adverbs freely since the Middle Ages, and attaching it to nouns like "city" to mean "as regards the city" is a productive pattern rather than a single event. Because the word is a transparent compound, it has no famous coiner or dramatic shift in meaning to report. Its use is largely in informal and commercial contexts, such as describing trends or scope "citywise" in a report, where it is a compact alternative to phrases like "across the city" or "in terms of the city."