metropolis
The mother (founding) polis (city state) of a colony.
Other meanings
A large, busy city, especially as the main city in an area or country or as distinguished from surrounding rural areas.
The see of a metropolitan bishop, ranking above its suffragan diocesan bishops.
Word history
From Ancient Greek "μητρόπολις" (mother city).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “metropolis” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.