Definition of "cosmopolite"

First drink a health, this solemn night, / A health to England, every guest: / That man’s the best cosmopolite / Who loves his native country best.

1852, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Hands All Round‎

Prince Gortschakoff has spoken of the elements of disturbance and the revolutionary cosmopolites of Europe, and has asked France and England and Austria to repress their activity. Well, my Lords, no doubt as carrion birds are drawn by instinct to the battle-field, so, wherever there is disturbance, the moral and political vultures of Europe will flock to take part in it

1863 May 8, Lord John Russell, Hansard‎, archived from the original on 12 February 2019

The wild goose is more of a cosmopolite than we; he breaks his fast in Canada, takes a luncheon in the Ohio, and plumes himself for the night in a southern bayou.

1854, Henry David Thoreau, chapter XVIII, in Walden‎, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co, published 1910, page 422

He was a pale, lean, acute, undeveloped little cosmopolite, who liked intellectual gymnastics and who, also, as regards the behaviour of mankind, had noticed more things than you might suppose, but who nevertheless had his proper playroom of superstitions, where he smashed a dozen toys a day.

1891, Henry James, The Pupil

[…] the fifties were bad years for the Jews. The campaign against the "rootless cosmopolites" was in full swing […]

1986, Joseph Brodsky, “In a Room and a Half”, in Less Than One: Selected Essays, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, page 469

Eighteenth-century Masons viewed themselves as cosmopolites, as citizens of the world who practiced toleration and inclusiveness, believed in the fundamental unity of mankind, and prized affection, sociability and benevolence.

2007, Jessica L. Harland-Jacobs, chapter 2, in Builders of Empire: Freemasons and British Imperialism, 1717-1927, University of North Carolina Press, page 97

The painted lady butterfly […] has been seen around towns throughout North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Africa. It's known on every continent except Antarctica, and it's even found on islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. […] Not surprisingly, the painted lady is known in some circles as the cosmopolite.

1989, May Berenbaum, chapter 5, in Ninety-nine Gnats, Nits, and Nibblers‎, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, page 102

International necessities are rapidly breaking down old prejudices and conservatisms, while developing cosmopolite feeling.

1921, Lafcadio Hearn, Karma and Other Stories and Essays‎, London: George G. Harrap & Co, page 166

The cosmopolite glitter of the Ballets Russes enjoyed considerable compass—a transoceanic range that quickly credentialed both the composer and the choreographer.

2002, Charles M. Joseph, Stravinsky and Balanchine: A Journey of Invention, Yale University Press, page 34

There was no middle course for Richard's comrades between high friendship or absolute slavery. He was deficient in those cosmopolite habits and feelings which enable boys and men to hold together without caring much for each other; and, like every insulated mortal, he attributed the deficiency, of which he was quite aware, to the fact of his possessing a superior nature.

1859, George Meredith, chapter 15, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall

Early adopters tend to be better educated, enjoy higher social status, occupy positions in organizations of greater size and resources, consume higher levels of information from mass media communications, and are more cosmopolite than their later adopting counterparts. An individual or organization that is more cosmopolite is one that seeks and receives higher levels of exposure and exchange with individuals and organizations outside of their specific social system.

2008, Jennifer L. Sumner, Healthcare Communication Networks: The Dissemination of Employee Information for Hospital Security, Doctoral dissertation, University of Central Florida, Orlando, published by ProQuest LLC, Section 3.3, p. 42

If, however, we consider the Australian dingo as a native animal, we might class the genus Canis as cosmopolite, but the wild dogs of South America are now formed into separate genera by some naturalists.

1881, Alfred Russell Wallace, Island Life, or, the Phenomena and Causes of Insular Faunas and Floras, Including a Revision and Attempted Solution of the Problem of Geological Climates‎, New York: Harper & Brothers, Part I, Chapter II, p. 25

Both species could be labelled as the most cosmopolite as they appear in 100% of the sampling spots, both indoors and outdoors.

1987, F. Infante, E. Ruiz de Clavijo, C. Galán and G. Gallego, "Occurrence of Alternaria Nees ex Fr. in indoor and outdoor habitats in Cordoba (Spain)" in G. Boehm and R.M. Leuschner (eds.), Advances in Aerobiology: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Aerobiology, August 6–9, 1986, Basel, Switzerland, Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag, p. 160