'cosmopolitan' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'kosmopolitēs', where 'kosmos' meant 'world' and 'polites' meant 'citizen'.

'cosmopolitan' changed from Greek 'kosmopolitēs' into Late Latin/Medieval Latin 'cosmopolita', through French 'cosmopolite', and eventually entered modern English as 'cosmopolitan'.

Initially, it meant 'a citizen of the world' (someone belonging to the world rather than to a single city or nation); over time it evolved to include senses of 'worldly/sophisticated', 'widely distributed', and later cultural uses such as the name of a magazine and a cocktail.