metropolis
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metropolis¹
- /mɪˈtɹɒp.ə.lɪs/ UK
- /məˈtɹɑp.ə.lɪs/ US
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Late Latin mētropolis, from Ancient Greek μητρόπολις (mētrópolis, “mother city”), from μήτηρ (mḗtēr, “mother”) + πόλις (pólis, “city (state)”). By surface analysis, metro- + -polis. Doublet of metropole.
noun metropolises · metropoleis · metropoles · metropolizes · metropoli · metropolisses
-
The mother (founding) polis (city state) of a colony.
Colonies certainly did not become "clones" of their metropolises, but it is equally false that their colonial heritages were not influenced by the organization of the metropolises.
Similar: mother city, metropole
-
A large, busy city, especially as the main city in an area or country or as distinguished from surrounding rural areas.
Holonym: metropolitan area
Similar: metropolitan city
-
The see of a metropolitan bishop, ranking above its suffragan diocesan bishops.
Similar: archbishopric
- A generic focus in the distribution of plants or animals.
Metropolis²
Where it comes from
See English metropolis.
proper noun
- A city, the county seat of Massac County, Illinois, United States.
- A ghost town in Elko County, Nevada, United States.
- A classical city site in Anatolia (Turkey).
- A fictional city serving as the primary setting for the Superman franchise, published by DC Comics. My city need a hero, so I treat it like Metropolis / And it's a few bad Lois Lanes I can't name
- Nickname for New York City: a major city in New York, United States.
proper noun the Metropolis
- Nickname for London: the capital city of the United Kingdom; the capital city of England, within Greater London. The journey from our town to the metropolis, was a journey of about five hours.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: city, urban center, mainland, montréal, metropolitan, metropole, urban, town, cosmopolitan, metro, present, montreal, hastings, mats, megalopolis, conurbation
Translations
Every language
noun colony’s mother city
| Português | metrópole |
|---|---|
| Français | métropole |
| Ελληνικά | μητρόπολη mitrópoli |
| Română | metropolă |
| Русский | столи́ца stolíca, метропо́лия metropólija |
| العربية | حَاضِرَة ḥāḍira |
noun large, busy city
| Español | urbe, metrópolis, metrópoli |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 대도시 daedosi, 메트로폴리스 meteuropolliseu |
| 日本語 | 大都市 daitoshi, 大都会 daitokai, メトロポリス metoroporisu |
| 中文 | 大都會 /大都会 dàdūhuì, 大城市 dàchéngshì, 都市 dūshì, 大都市 dàdūshì |
| Português | metrópole |
| Français | métropole |
| Deutsch | Metropole, Weltstadt |
| Italiano | metropoli |
| Ελληνικά | μητρόπολη mitrópoli |
| Română | metropolă |
| Русский | мегапо́лис megapólis, центр centr, метропо́лия metropólija |
| Tiếng Việt | siêu đô thị |
| עברית | מֶטְרוֹפּוֹלִין metropolín |
noun see of a metropolitan bishop, ranking above its suffragan diocesan bishops
| Русский | митропо́лия mitropólija |
|---|
Talk about this word "metropolis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/metropolis. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. metropolis. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/metropolis "metropolis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/metropolis.Cite this
@misc{metropolis_2026,
title = {metropolis},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/metropolis},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
