English
polis
Polis comes from Ancient Greek πόλις ‘fortified town’, from Proto-Hellenic *ptólis ‘city’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tpelH-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tpelH-‘fortification, city’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ptólis‘city’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλιςpólis‘fortified town’
- Englishearliest quotation 2006polis
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tpelH-‘fortification, city’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ptólis‘city’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλιςpólis‘fortified town’
- Englishearliest quotation 2006polis
Earliest quotation: 2006, Karen Armstrong, The Great Transformation: “By the end of the century, poleis had been…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek πόλις ‘fortified town’
police, policy, politico, polity, politic, politique, 7 more
Another origin of polis
- Scotsc. 1450–presentpolis
- Englishtodaysame form
Today it means
noun A Greek city-state.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- / polis