polis

1 of 2

noun

po·​lis ˈpä-ləs 

plural poleis ˈpä-ˌlās 

: a Greek city-state

broadly : a state or society especially when characterized by a sense of community

-polis

2 of 2

noun combining form

: city

megalopolis

Examples of polis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

His destination is the island of Issa in Liburnia—or present-day Croatia—where the Greek polis has sent laborers to build a city at the northern edge of the empire. — Sam Sacks, WSJ, 25 Nov. 2022

This search is necessarily a collective endeavor; that is a principal reason, Aristotle thought, that individuals congregate together in a polis in the first place. — Win McCormack, The New Republic, 23 Nov. 2022

Few of those positive connotations survive today, and yet the resurgent nostalgia for dumb technologies is often spurred by a not entirely modern desire to distance oneself from the bustle of the polis and the frenzied commerce of the agora. — Wired, 28 July 2022

Unlike your small polis, our larger and anonymous modern democracies use enforceable laws and contracts to be more impartial and spread benefits to more people. — Mark Shiffman, Harper’s Magazine , 16 Mar. 2022

Upon its defeat, the once-great polis fell under the tyrannical control of Sparta. — Frank Holmes, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2022

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. — Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2021

Her political ideal is the Greek space of the polis, or city-state. — Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 16 Mar. 2021

This has historical precedent, the Greek colonies alonge fringes of the Mediterranean were founded by men, sometimes explicitly exiled from their home polis. — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 1 June 2011

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Greek pólis "citadel, city, community of citizens, city-state" — more at police entry 1

Noun combining form

borrowed from Greek, combining form of pólis "citadel, city, community of citizens, city-state" — more at police entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1884, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for polis

• bolus
• colas
• solus
• embolus
• portcullis
• volvulus
• convolvulus
• gladiolus
• nucleolus