Origin: 1500-1600 Late Latin Greek, from meter mother + polis city
Thesaurus
THESAURUSplace►town
an area with houses, stores, offices, etc. where people live and work: He grew up in a small town in Texas. Milton is a town of about 35,000 people.
►city
a very large town, usually with very large buildings, museums, parks, etc. where a large number of people live and work: Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida. He lives near Central Park in New York City.
►metropolis
a very large city, especially an important city – used especially in writing: London grew from one square mile into a busy and crowded metropolis.
►suburb
a town or small city near a large city: He lives in a suburb of Seattle but drives into the city for work every day.
►village
a very small town, usually far from cities – used especially about places outside of the U.S.: His parents come from a village in Thailand.
►capital
a large city where a country’s or state’s main government is: Sacramento is the capital of California.
►municipality
formal a town, city, or other small area, which has its own government: The website has a map of the municipality of Anchorage.
►settlement
a group of houses and buildings where people live, far away from other towns: The pioneers lived in a small settlement on the edge of the desert.
a very large city that is the most important city in a country or area ► see thesaurus at town