Etymologically
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metropolitan

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɛtɹəˈpɒlɪtən/ (UK); /ˌmɛtɹəˈpɑlɪtən/, /mɛtɹəˈpɒlɪtən/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin metropolitanus,[2][3][4] from Greek μητροπολίτης (mētropolítēs, “resident of a city; citizen of a mother state”),[2][5] from μητρόπολις (mētrópolis, “mother city; capital; see of a metropolitan bishop”) (see metropolis), from μήτηρ (mḗtēr, “mother”) and πόλις (pólis, “city”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bishop with authority over the other bishops of his province: the mid-14th century in Etymonline.[2] The adjective, belonging to an ecclesiastical metropolis, is from the early 15th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the early church the metropolitan was the bishop of a provincial capital; in modern Catholic use he is an archbishop with bishops under him, and in the Orthodox churches he ranks above an archbishop.[2] Of a chief or capital city, it is from the 1550s (1555 in the OED).[2][6] Belonging to the mother country, especially of France as opposed to its colonies, is from 1806.[6] Of underground city railways it is from 1867, as in London's Metropolitan Railway.[2][6]

Timeline

  • mid-14th century – a metropolitan bishop.[2]
  • early 15th century – the adjective.[2]
  • 1555 – of a capital city.[6]
  • 1806 – of the mother country.[6]
  • 1867 – of an underground railway.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to a large city and its surrounding area.
  2. Belonging to the home country of a state rather than its colonies: metropolitan France.
  3. Relating to an ecclesiastical province or its chief bishop.

Noun

  1. (Christianity) A bishop with authority over the bishops of a province; in the Orthodox churches, one ranking above an archbishop.
  2. An inhabitant of a metropolis.

Word family

  • metropolitanism
  • metroplex
  • metropolitanize
  • nonmetropolitan
  • unmetropolitan

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press