polis

¹

[ poh-lis ]

noun

plural poleis

1. an ancient Greek city-state.

-polis

²

1. a combining form, meaning “city,” appearing in loanwords from Greek ( metropolis ), and used in the formation of placenames ( Annapolis ).

polis

¹

/ ˈpɒlɪs /

noun

1. an ancient Greek city-state

polis

²

/ ˈpolɪs /

noun

1. the police or a police officer

Word History and Origins

Origin of polis¹

1890–95; < Greek pólis, plural (Ionic) póleis

Origin of polis²

Combining form representing Greek pólis polis

Word History and Origins

Origin of polis¹

from Greek: city

Origin of polis²

C19: a variant pronunciation of police

Example Sentences

They were woven into the fabric of a democratic polis.

From Salon

Shadow puppets fill in the ancient Greek backstory involving a fellow named Thaddeus, who markets water in disposable vases that the polis can’t get enough of.

From Los Angeles Times

More than that, a kind of arts polis, a democratic gathering place for arts and ideas.

From Los Angeles Times

They also started to create what Václav Benda called a “parallel polis” – a world in which one tried to act as if one was already free.

From The Guardian

These shouters scare me to the bone, they seem so much like the polis and Border Patrol—those bad ones who tried to stop me.

From Literature

Related Words

• capital
• center
• downtown
• metropolis
• municipality
• place
• port