Skip to content

metrópoli

metropolis

noun meh-TROH-poh-lee Rare

Origin: From Greek metropolis (mother city), from meter (mother) + polis (city).

Usage Note

Metrópoli (also spelled metrópolis) denotes a large, dominant city or urban center. Both spellings are accepted by the RAE; metrópoli (proparoxytone, stress on the antepenultimate syllable) is more common in formal writing, while metrópolis preserves the original Greek form. The adjective is metropolitano, as in área metropolitana (metropolitan area).

Examples

"Madrid es una metrópoli cosmopolita."

Natural Translation

Madrid is a cosmopolitan metropolis.

Explore Spanish by topic