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View synonyms for polis

polis

1

[ poh-lis ]

noun

, plural po·leis [poh, -lahys].
  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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of polis1

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

Origin of polis2

Combining form representing Greek pólis polis

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Word History and Origins

Origin of polis1

from Greek: city

Origin of polis2

C19: a variant pronunciation of police

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Example Sentences

In a now famous clip, Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) was asked what percentage of Congress smokes.

One case which did garner some mainstream media attention was that of Chrissy Lee Polis.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis is another Democrat frustrated by the highly visible and political failure of the civil unions bill.

His father coined the word “poliatrist”, meaning a healer of the polis or city.

Frank is retiring, Baldwin is running for the Senate, and Polis and Ciciline are up for reelection.

It would have gone hard with them as they left the cage, but someone whispered, "Here's the polis!"

Wan day a captain an' a squad iv polis backed th' wagon up to th' dure iv th' palace an' rung th' bell.

I 've a bit of paper for you somewhere, from one you know, if them blackguards the 'polis' has not made me lose it.

The constitution of the polis is a Phœnician invention, even this has been imitated by the Hellenes.

The Greek polis and the αἱεν ἁριστεὑειν grew up out of mutual enmity.

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Words That Use -polis

What does -polis mean?

The combining form -polis is used like a suffix meaning “city.” It is occasionally used in technical terms.

The form -polis comes from Greek pólis, meaning “city.”

Examples of -polis

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -polis is megalopolis, “a very large city.”

The megalo- part of the word means “large,” from Greek mégas. As we have seen, -polis means “city.” Megalopolis literally translates to “large city.”

What are some words that use the combining form -polis?

What are some other forms that -polis may be commonly confused with?

Break it down!

The combining form necro- means “dead.” With this in mind, what does necropolis literally mean?

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inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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