Meanings
nounmetic (plural metics)
plural metics
- historicalIn Ancient Greek city-states, a resident alien who did not have the rights of a citizen and who paid a tax for the right to live there.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμέτοικος“foreigner, metic”
- Late Latinmetycus
- Englishmetic
From Late Latin metycus (also metoecus), from Ancient Greek μέτοικος (métoikos, “foreigner, metic”).
More words from Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μέτοικος
- μέτοικος (métoikos)resident alien in ancient Greece
Danish metoik
- metoikresident alien in ancient Greece
Dutch metoik
- metoikresident alien in ancient Greece
Finnish metoikit
- metoikitresident alien in ancient Greece
French métèque
- métèqueresident alien in ancient Greece
German Metöke
- Metökeresident alien in ancient Greece
Greek μέτοικος
- μέτοικος (métoikos)resident alien in ancient Greece
Italian meteco
- metecoresident alien in ancient Greece
Latin metoecus
- metoecusresident alien in ancient Greece
Polish metojk
- metojkresident alien in ancient Greece
Portuguese meteco
- metecoresident alien in ancient Greece
Russian мете́к
- мете́к (metɛ́k)resident alien in ancient Greece
Spanish meteco
- metecoresident alien in ancient Greece
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with metic
magneticgeneticathleticdiabeticaestheticenergetickineticsympatheticpoeticpatheticalphabeticanestheticgeodeticdieteticdiuretichermeticapatheticfreneticcyberneticasceticparamagneticmimeticunsympatheticparasympathetic
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
APA
metic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metic
MLA
“metic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metic. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “metic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metic.
Source: metic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.