'city-dweller' is a Modern English compound formed from 'city' + 'dweller'. 'City' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'civitas' via Old French 'cite', and 'dweller' comes from the verb 'dwell' (Old English 'dwellan') with the agentive suffix '-er'.

'city' changed from Latin 'civitas' to Old French 'cite' and then to Middle English 'cite'/'ciȝt' before becoming the modern English 'city'. 'Dwell' appears in Old English as 'dwellan' (and related Middle English forms such as 'dwellen'), evolving to modern 'dwell'; the agentive form 'dweller' developed by adding '-er'. The compound 'city-dweller' arose in Modern English by combining these elements to denote a person who lives in a city.

Initially, Latin 'civitas' referred to 'citizenship' or the body of citizens (a political community); over time this shifted to mean a large town or urban settlement, which is the modern sense of 'city'. The verb 'dwell' long meant 'to remain or live', a sense that stabilized into modern 'to live or reside'. Combined, the compound's meaning settled as 'a person who lives in a city.'