acropolis
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀκρόπολις (akrópolis), from ἄκρος (ákros, “topmost”, “tip”, “summit”) + πόλις (pólis, “city”).[1]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: əkrŏʹpəlĭs, IPA(key): /əˈkɹɒpəlɪs/,[1]
Noun
acropolis (plural acropolises or acropoleis)
- A promontory (usually fortified with a citadel) forming the hub of many Grecian cities, and around which many were built for defensive purposes before and during the classical period; compare Acropolis.
- 1850, Karl Otfried Müller and John Leitch (translator), Ancient Art and Its Remains; or, A Manual of the Archæology of Art, page 146:
- The Etruscans, then, appear in general as an industrious people ( φιλότεχνον ἔθνος), of a bold and lofty spirit of enterprise, which was greatly favoured by their priestly aristocratic constitution. Massive walls, mostly of irregular blocks, surround their cities (not merely their acropoleis); the art of protecting the country from inundations by the construction of canals, and outlets from lakes, was very zealously practised by them.
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Related terms
- acropolitan (pertaining adjective)
- acropoli (non-standard plural)
Translations
promontory of Ancient Greek cities
References
- “Acropolis” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
Anagrams
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