metropolis

C2+ Topic:Places & Geography

US /məˈtrɑpəlɪs/ UK /məˈtrɒpəlɪs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a large, important city, often a regional capital

From a quiet village he moved to the sprawling metropolis.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a large, important city,... citymegalopoliscapitalconurbationmegacity

Opposites

village hamlet backwater

Word family

Derived forms metropolitan

Related forms metropolitancosmopolisnecropolis

Simplified etymology

Metropolis is recorded from the late Middle English period. In Greek it meant “mother city,” and it contains polis “city, state,” an element also found in cosmopolitan and politics.

Etymology

From Late Latin metropolis, from Greek mētrópolis 'mother city', from mētēr 'mother' + pólis 'city'.

mētēr Ancient Greek pólis Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# metropolis

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /məˈtrɑpəlɪs/
**IPA (UK):** /məˈtrɒpəlɪs/

## Meanings
1. a large, important city, often a regional capital

## Examples
- From a quiet village he moved to the sprawling metropolis.

## Synonyms
- city
- megalopolis
- capital
- conurbation
- megacity

## Antonyms
- village
- hamlet
- backwater

## Derived Forms
- metropolitan

## Related Forms
- metropolitan
- cosmopolis
- necropolis

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mētēr
- Root: pólis

## Etymology
From Late Latin metropolis, from Greek mētrópolis 'mother city', from mētēr 'mother' + pólis 'city'.

## AI Etymology
Metropolis comes from Late Latin metropolis, from Greek mētrópolis 'mother city', from mētēr 'mother' + pólis 'city'. The etymological trail includes Ancient Greek mētēr and Ancient Greek pólis. As a noun, metropolis means a large, important city, often a regional capital. The same family is visible in derived forms such as metropolitan and related forms such as metropolitan, cosmopolis, and necropolis. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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