métropole

See also: metropole, Metropole, and metrópole

French

Alternative forms

• métropolis

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr

Proto-Hellenic *mā́tēr

Ancient Greek μήτηρ (mḗtēr)

Proto-Indo-European *tpelH-

Proto-Hellenic *ptólis

Ancient Greek πόλῐς (pólĭs)

Ancient Greek μητρόπολις (mētrópolis)bor.

Latin mētropolislbor.

French métropole

Learned borrowing from Latin mētropolis, from Ancient Greek μητρόπολις (mētrópolis).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /me.tʁɔ.pɔl/

Noun

métropole f (countable and uncountable, plural métropoles)

1. (history, especially Ancient Greece) metropolis (mother polis of a colony)
2. metropolis (a large, busy city, especially as the main city in an area or country or as distinguished from surrounding rural areas)
3. metropole (the parent-state of a colony)
4. (Europe, only with definite article) Continental France, not including its various oversea territories

   Synonym: France métropolitaine

Derived terms

• métro
• métropoliser
  • métropolisation

Related terms

• métropolitain
• métropolitainement
• métropolitanisation
• métropolitaniser
• métropolitanité
• métropolite

Further reading

• Littré, Émile (1873–1878), “métropole”, in Dictionnaire de la langue française, Paris: L. Hachette
• “métropole”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012