Where does “metropolis” come from?
Metropolis comes from Late Latin metropolis, from Ancient Greek μητρόπολις, combining πόλις (city) and μήτηρ (mother), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European méh₂tēr (mother).
metropolis (English): The mother polis of a colony; A large, busy...
Definitions
- The mother polis of a colony; A large, busy...
Ancestry of “metropolis”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | metropolis | metropolis |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | μητρόπολις | mother-state; one's mother-city, mother country,... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | πόλις | city; a whole country, as dependent on and called... |
| 4 | Proto-Hellenic | ptólis | city |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | tpólHis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | tpelH- | fortification, city |