Where does “metropolitan” come from?
Metropolitan comes from Late Latin metropolitanus, from Ancient Greek μητροπολίτης, derived from μητρόπολις (mother city), combining μήτηρ (mother) and πόλις (city), with μήτηρ ultimately from Proto-Indo-European méh₂tēr.
metropolitan (English): A bishop empowered to oversee other bishops; an...
Definitions
- A bishop empowered to oversee other bishops; an...
Ancestry of “metropolitan”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | metropolitanus | metropolitan |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | μητροπολίτης | metropolitan |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | μητρόπολις | mother-state; one's mother-city, mother country,... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | πόλις | city; a whole country, as dependent on and called... |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | ptólis | city |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | tpólHis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tpelH- | fortification, city |