[me.trop.o.lis] n [ME, fr. LL, fr. Gk metropolis, fr. metr-, meter mother + polis city--more at mother, police] (14c) 1: the chief or capital city of a country, state, or region
2: the city or state of origin of a colony (as of ancient Greece) 3 a: a city regarded as a center of a specified activity "a great business ~" b: a large important city "the world's great ~es --P. E. James"