Metro
/ˈmɛt.roʊ/noun
A subway or rapid transit system, or a metropolitan area.
Did you know?Metro comes through French from Greek mḗtēr, meaning “mother,” via mḗtropolis, originally “mother city,” the founding center of a colony.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*méh₂tēr
“mother”
Ancient Greek
Greek
mḗtēr
“mother”
Ancient Greek
Greek
mḗtropolis
“mother city; a chief city of a colony”
French
Old French / Modern French
métro
“short for métropolitain; a subway system”
English
English
metro
“a subway or rapid transit system”
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