acropolis

/əkˈɹɒpələs/uh-KRO-puh-luhs

/əkˈɹɑpələs/uh-KRAH-puh-luhs

Meaningthe city at the top

Common meaning: a hilltop citadel

acrat the top or tipLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 31 · scan
pola city, a citizen communityLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1240 · scan
isGreek noun ending marking an act or process

‘at the top or tip’ + ‘a city, a citizen community’ → acropolis

Journey through time

Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.

acr — Greek ἄκρος “at the top or tip” (dictionary form; path not traced)
pol — Greek πόλις “a city, a citizen community” (dictionary form; path not traced)

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Greek ἄκρος ‘at the top or tip’ + Greek πόλις ‘a city, a citizen community’.

Did you know (Greek polis, "city",…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry πόλις, p. 1240 · dictionary scan

Did you know (Greek akros, topmost,…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry ἄκρος, p. 31 · dictionary scan

Roots

πόλις Greek “a city, a citizen community”
ἄκρος Greek “at the top or tip”

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