Metropolis

A metropolis (/mᵻˈtrɒpᵊlɪs/) is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. The term is Greek (Greek: Μητρόπολη) and means the "mother city" of a colony (in the ancient sense), that is, the city which sent out settlers. This was later generalized to a city regarded as a center of a specified activity, or any large, important city in a nation.

A big city belonging to a larger urban agglomeration, but which is not the core of that agglomeration, is not generally considered a metropolis but a part of it. The plural of the word is most commonly metropolises. Although the correct plural is "Metropoles", Latin from the Greek "Metropoleis" (Greek: Μητρoπόλεις).

For urban centers outside metropolitan areas that generate a similar attraction at smaller scale for their region, the concept of the regiopolis, short regio, was introduced by German professors in 2006.

In the ancient past, metropolis was the designation for a city or state of origin of a colony. Many large cities founded by ancient civilizations have been considered important world metropoles of their times due to their large populations and importance. Some of these ancient metropoles survived until the modern days and are among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.

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