-polis

suffix

Forms names of cities or kinds of cities.

OriginAncient Greek πόλις (pólis) ← Proto-Hellenic *ptólis ← Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- →
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Meanings

suffix-polis (proper noun-forming suffix)

plural -poleis · plural -polises

  1. Forms names of cities or kinds of cities.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*tpelH-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*ptólis
  3. Ancient Greekπόλις (pólis)
  4. English-polis

Learned borrowing from Latin -polis, from Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis, “city”). Doublet of -ple.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-polis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-polis

MLA

“-polis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-polis. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-polis,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-polis.

Source: -polis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.