metropolitan

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metropolitan^¹

/mɛtɹəˈpɒlɪtən/ UK
[-tn̩] UK
/ˌmɛtɹəˈpɑlɪtən/ US, dialectal
[-ɾən] US, dialectal
[-ɾn̩] US, dialectal
/mɛtɹəˈpɒlɪtən/ Canada, dialectal
[-ɾən] Canada, dialectal
[-ɾn̩] Canada, dialectal
/ˌmetɹəˈpɔlɪtən/ Australia
/ˌmetɹəˈpɒlɪtən/ Australia
[-ɾən] Australia
[-ɾn̩] Australia

Rhymes with -ɒlɪtən

Where it comes from

From Late Latin mētropolītānus, from mētropolis [itself from Ancient Greek μητρόπολις (mētrópolis, literally “mother-polis”)] + -ītānus (“-itan”, suffix forming adjectives from nouns ending with -polis) [ultimately from Ancient Greek -ίτης (-ítēs, “-ite”) + -ānus (“-an”)].

By surface analysis, metropolis + -itan (i.e. metropolis + -ite + -an).

noun metropolitans

A bishop empowered to oversee other bishops; an archbishop. I knovv God by Miracle can inſtruct Kings, as he rained Mannah, and raiſed the Apoſtles from letterless Fiſher-men, to learned Metropolitans, and profound Doctours.
Similar: metropolitan bishop
The inhabitant of a metropolis.

adjective more metropolitan · most metropolitan

Pertaining to the see or province of a metropolitan.
Of, or pertaining to, a metropolis or other large urban settlement. But the one [letter] in the unknown script and with a metropolitan post mark—could it be from some London Woman? In spite of having lived in the country all her life and for the most part in remote Devon, Miss Tilehurst had always understood that such beings really existed.
Of or pertaining to the parent state of a colony or territory, or the home country, e.g. metropolitan France Policies relating to the elimination of racial discrimination which obtain in metropolitan New Zealand are applicable in the Tokelau Islands.

Opposite: non-metropolitan

Metropolitan^²

adjective

England, dated, not comparable Of or pertaining to London, United Kingdom.

proper noun

The Metropolitan Line of London Underground, which has its ancestry in the Metropolitan Railway.
Similar: Met

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: diocese, cosmopolitan, municipal, local, town, city, metropole, urban, greater, home, british, capital, agglomeration, interborough, continental, major

adjective

Opposite: non-metropolitan

Translations

Every language

noun bishop empowered to oversee other bishops

Español	metropolitano
日本語	府主教 fushukyō
中文	大主教 dàzhǔjiào
Deutsch	Metropolit
Italiano	metropolita
Ελληνικά	μητροπολίτης mitropolítis
Română	mitropolit
Русский	митрополи́т mitropolít
Tiếng Việt	giám mục đô thành
العربية	مُطْرَان muṭrān, مِطْرَان miṭrān, مَطْرَان maṭrān

adj pertaining to a metropolis

Español	metropolitano
日本語	都立 toritsu
हिन्दी	महानगरीय mahānagarīya
Português	metropolitano
Français	métropolitain, urbain
Italiano	metropolitano
Ελληνικά	μητροπολίτης mitropolítis
Русский	центра́льный centrálʹnyj, столи́чный stolíčnyj, городско́й gorodskój, метрополитенский metropolitenskij

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MLA

"metropolitan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/metropolitan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

metropolitan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/metropolitan

Chicago

"metropolitan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/metropolitan.

BibTeX

@misc{metropolitan_2026,
  title = {metropolitan},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/metropolitan},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}