Megalopolis
/ˌmɛɡəˈlɒpəlɪs/noun
A very large city or an extended urban region formed by the merging of several cities and suburbs.
Did you know?Megalopolis was coined in modern times from Greek elements, but the same mega- root also gave English words like megaphone and megalomania, making “big” feel almost like a spell of magnitude.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
megas + polis
“great, large + city, city-state”
19th Century
English
megalopolis
“a large city or urban region formed by the merging of many communities”
Modern English
English
megalopolis
“a very large urban area, especially one made up of several connected cities”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*meg-
“big, great”
Explore more surprising origins