polis

Meanings

1. 1nouncountabletechnical

   A city-state in ancient Greece, a self-governing community made up of a city and its surrounding land.

   Grammar: Countable; the plural is poleis: the Greek poleis.

   Patterns

   • the Greek polis
   • a polis such as Athens

   Athens was the most famous polis of ancient Greece.

   Each polis had its own laws and army.

   Citizens saw themselves first as members of their polis.

2. 2nounsingularformal

   The community of citizens in a state, considered as a political body.

   Grammar: Used in political theory: the polis as a community.

   Patterns

   • the polis

   The philosopher believed virtue was learned in the polis.

   He wrote about the duties of citizens to the polis.

   Modern thinkers revive the idea of the polis.

Word forms

Common combinations

Greek polis

The Greek polis was small by modern standards.

the life of the polis

Citizens took part in the life of the polis.

citizen of the polis

A citizen of the polis could vote in the assembly.

rival poleis

The rival poleis often went to war.

ancient polis

The ancient polis was both a town and a political community.

Synonyms and how they differ

city-state

City-state is the common English term for a polis, and can describe places in any era.

commonwealth

Commonwealth stresses shared public good and is not tied to ancient Greece.

community

Community is general and has no political meaning like polis.

state

State is broad and can be large, whereas polis was small.

Word family

politics noun

the activity of governing a community

political adjective

relating to government or public affairs

metropolis noun

a very large city

police noun

the organization that keeps order

acropolis noun

the high fortified part of a Greek city

Commonly confused: polis or police?

Practice

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