Etymology Explorer › Spanish

Where does “metro” come from?

metro (Spanish) comes from French métro, from French métropolitain, from Latin mētropolītānus, from Ancient Greek μητροπολίτης, from Ancient Greek μητρόπολις, from Ancient Greek πόλις, from Proto-Hellenic ptólis, from Proto-Indo-European tpólHis — fortification, city.

metro (Spanish): meter; measuring tape; ruler

Definitions

  1. meter; measuring tape; ruler

Ancestry of “metro”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchmétrosubway , underground , Tube; Someone from...
2Frenchmétropolitainmetropolitan; subway, underground; Person from...
3Latinmētropolītānus—
4Ancient Greekμητροπολίτης—
5Ancient Greekμητρόπολιςmother-state; one's mother-city, mother country,...
6Ancient Greekπόλιςcity; a whole country, as dependent on and called...
7Proto-Hellenicptóliscity
8Proto-Indo-EuropeantpólHis—
9Proto-Indo-EuropeantpelH-fortification, city

Words derived from “metro”

  • mm
  • kilómetro
  • kilometraje
  • milímetro
  • cuentakilómetros
  • quilómetro
  • micrómetro
  • kilometro
  • metro
  • kilometro
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tpelH- →