Artist round old city left country (5)
I believe the answer is:
rural
'country' is the definition.
(I know that country can be written as rural)
'artist round old city left' is the wordplay.
'artist' becomes 'RA' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'round' is an insertion indicator.
'old city' becomes 'ur' (ancient city state).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'ra' placed around 'ur' is 'rura'.
'rura'+'l'='RURAL'
(Other definitions for rural that I've seen before include "Relating to the countryside" , "Characteristic of the countryside" , "living in the countryside" , "Connected with farming" , "covering the country" .)