Philadelphia

P3H4I1L1A1D2E1L1P3H4I1A1
/fɪləˈdɛlfi.ə/[fɪɫəˈdɜɫfi.ə]

proper noun

The largest city in Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of coterminous Philadelphia County; the former capital of the United States.

Very commonScrabble 23

Meanings

proper noun
  1. The largest city in Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of coterminous Philadelphia County; the former capital of the United States.

    Philadelphia police said they were investigating. No charges were immediately filed.

    2025 May 5, “Barstool Sports founder retracts Auschwitz tour offer to customer in antisemitic sign incident”, in Associated Press

    Synonyms: Philly, Killadelphia, City of Brotherly Love

  2. historicalFormer name of Amman: the capital of Jordan.
  3. historicalFormer name of Alaşehir: a city, municipality, and district of Manisa Province, Turkey.
  4. A locale in the United States; named for the city in Pennsylvania.
  5. A village in Brandenburg, Germany; named for the city in Pennsylvania.
  6. A village in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England; named for the city in Pennsylvania (OS grid ref NZ3352).

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounThe largest city in Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of coterminous Philadelphia County; the former capital of the United States.

Origin

  1. Ancient GreekΦιλάδελφος (Philádelphos)
  2. Ancient GreekΦιλαδέλφεια (Philadélpheia)
  3. LatinPhiladelphia
  4. EnglishPhiladelphia

From Latin Philadelphia, from Ancient Greek Φιλαδέλφεια (Philadélpheia), from φιλάδελφος (philádelphos, “brother/sibling-loving”) + -εια (-eia, “-ia: forming placenames”), from the combining form of φῐλέειν (phĭléein, “to love”) + ἀδελφός (adelphós, “brother, sibling”). In reference to the city in Turkey, named for the loyal Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamon. In reference to the city in Jordan, named for the incestuous Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt. In reference to the American city, named for the ancient towns as well as the Quaker William Penn's aim of fostering religious tolerance. Doublet of Filadelfia.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic فِيلَادِلْفْيَا f or فِلَدِلْفِيَا
  • فِيلَادِلْفْيَا f or فِلَدِلْفِيَا (fīlādilfyā)largest city in Pennsylvania
Basque Filadelfia
  • Filadelfialargest city in Pennsylvania
Bengali ফিলাডেলফিয়া
  • ফিলাডেলফিয়া (philaḍelphiẏa)largest city in Pennsylvania
Bulgarian Филаде́лфия
  • Филаде́лфия (Filadélfija)largest city in Pennsylvania
Catalan Filadèlfia
  • Filadèlfialargest city in Pennsylvania
Chinese Mandarin 費城 /费城, 費拉德爾菲亞 /费拉德尔菲亚
  • 費城 /费城 (Fèichéng)largest city in Pennsylvania
  • 費拉德爾菲亞 /费拉德尔菲亚 (Fèilādé'ěrfēiyà)largest city in Pennsylvania
Czech Filadelfie
  • Filadelfielargest city in Pennsylvania
Esperanto Filadelfio
  • Filadelfiolargest city in Pennsylvania
Finnish Philadelphia
  • Philadelphialargest city in Pennsylvania
French Philadelphie
  • Philadelphielargest city in Pennsylvania
German Philadelphia
  • Philadelphialargest city in Pennsylvania
Greek Φιλαδέλφεια
  • Φιλαδέλφεια (Filadélfeia)largest city in Pennsylvania
Hebrew פִילָדֶלְפִיָּה
  • פִילָדֶלְפִיָּה (filadélfia)largest city in Pennsylvania
Hindi फिलाडेल्फिया
  • फिलाडेल्फिया (philāḍelphiyā)largest city in Pennsylvania
Icelandic Fíladelfía
  • Fíladelfíalargest city in Pennsylvania
Italian Filadelfia
  • Filadelfialargest city in Pennsylvania
Japanese フィラデルフィア
  • フィラデルフィア (Firaderufia)largest city in Pennsylvania
Korean 필라델피아
  • 필라델피아 (pilladelpia)largest city in Pennsylvania
Latvian Filadelfija
  • Filadelfijalargest city in Pennsylvania
Lithuanian Filadelfija
  • Filadelfijalargest city in Pennsylvania
Persian فیلادلفیا
  • فیلادلفیا (filâdelfiâ)largest city in Pennsylvania
Polish Filadelfia
  • Filadelfialargest city in Pennsylvania
Portuguese Filadélfia
  • Filadélfialargest city in Pennsylvania
Russian Филаде́льфия
  • Филаде́льфия (Filadélʹfija)largest city in Pennsylvania
Spanish Filadelfia
  • Filadelfialargest city in Pennsylvania
Tamil பிலடெல்பியா
  • பிலடெல்பியா (pilaṭelpiyā)largest city in Pennsylvania
Thai ฟิลาเดลเฟีย
  • ฟิลาเดลเฟีย (fí-laa-deen-fia)largest city in Pennsylvania
Turkish Filedelfiya
  • Filedelfiyalargest city in Pennsylvania
Ukrainian Філаде́льфія
  • Філаде́льфія (Filadélʹfija)largest city in Pennsylvania
Yiddish פֿילאַדעלפֿיע
  • פֿילאַדעלפֿיע (filadelfye)largest city in Pennsylvania
Cite this entry
APA

Philadelphia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Philadelphia

MLA

“Philadelphia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Philadelphia. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Philadelphia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Philadelphia.

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