Metropolis

A metropolis - pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, mi-TROP-ol-is, IPA: /mɛt ˈrɒ pɒ lɪs/ - is the chief city in a region or the capital of a country. In England London is sometimes referred to as 'the Metropolis' - a person who said 'I am now working in the Metropolis' would be understood to mean that he was now working in London. Much less frequently, the word 'metropolis' is used in the Roman Catholic Church and Church of England to refer to the chief diocese, i.e., the archdiocese, in an ecclesiastical province (i.e., group of dioceses).

The English word 'metropolis' comes from the Greek word μητρὀπολις‚ (metropolis), which is a compound of the two words μητρο- (metro-), adjectival form of μήτηρ (meter, 'mother') and πὀλις‚ (polis, city or state) and means 'mother-city' or 'mother-state'. The word was used to refer to a city-state in relation to its colonies - e.g., the city-state of Corinth was the μητρὀπολις of Syracuse and Corcyra (now called Corfu), which were two of its colonies. The word was also used to refer to one's mother-city or mother-country - an Athenian citizen living abroad could refer to Athens as his μητρὀπολις. And, finally, μητρὀπολις, like the English 'metropolis', was used of the chief city of a region.

The adjective from 'metropolis' is 'metropolitan' - pronounced with the stress on the third syllable, me-tro-PO-li-tan, IPA: /mɛt rɒ ˈpɒl ɪt ən/. 'Metropolitan' may mean: relating to or characteristic of a metropolis either in the sense of the chief city of a region or, more rarely in Western Churches, in the sense of the chief diocese of an ecclesiastical province. (The bishop of a metropolitan diocese may be known as a metropolitan bishop, and the word 'metropolitan' used as a noun means a metropolitan bishop.) In Orthodox churches, the hierarchy above bishops may contain Patriarchs, Archbishops and Metropolitans - the precedence of these three varies between the different churches.

The adjective 'metropolitan' may also be used (in a way more reminiscent of the Greek μητρὀπολις‚ than the English 'metropolis') to refer to the home territories of a country as opposed to its overseas territories - e.g., when France had colonies in North Africa, 'metropolitan France' referred to French territory in Europe by contrast with French territory overseas. And, last but not least, 'metropolitan' may mean: relating to or characteristic of a city and its suburbs - the London metropolitan area comprises the city of London itself and the extensive suburban area which surrounds it. This is sometimes used to imply sophistication, smartness, elegance and so on - the marks of a fashionable élite. OED says "In early use freq[uently] in negative sense: over-sophisticated, sexually promiscuous, corrupt (obs[olete]). Now usually in positive sense: urbane, sophisticated, excitingly varied, cosmopolitan." Cosmopolitan may be the less ambiguous word: you may want to use it instead.

The adjective 'metropolitan' appears in the names of a number of well-known institutions or organisations. For example,

• The Metropolitan Police Service - often referred to simply as 'the Met' - is the police force responsible for London and its suburbs (see last sense of 'metropolitan' above).

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the principal museum and art gallery in New York City. It was founded in 1870 and is now situated in Central Park.

• The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA - the signification of the initials varies slightly between the different schemes in different cities in the USA and other countries (see [disambiguation section on Transportation under MTA] - is responsible for the subway, buses, bridges and tunnels in New York City.
  • The Métro (French shortening of Métropolitain, the French form of Metropolitan) is the equivalent: the name of the underground railway in Paris, and by extension in other cities.

• The New York Met is the common name for The New York Metropolitan Opera, one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world.

• The Metropolitan Line is a line on the London Underground. It is usually coloured magenta on maps of the Underground railway system, and its main line runs from Aldgate (in the City of London) to Amersham (in Buckinghamshire) with branch lines to Uxbridge (in Middlesex), Watford (in Hertfordshire), and Chesham (in Buckinghamshire). When it opened in January 1863, the Metropolitan Line (or Metropolitan Railway, as it was then called) was the first underground railway in the world.

'Metroland' is the name sometimes given to the suburban areas to the northwest of London in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Middlesex, and Hertfordshire, i.e., the area served by the Metropolitan Line. 'Metroland' is also the title of a novel by Julian Barnes (1946-). The novel (published in 1997) takes its title from the fact that it is set in Metroland, and in the following year was made into a film with the same title, directed by Philip Saville. The film's tagline was: Metroland is not a location - it is a state of mind.