*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of polis

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- Proto-Hellenic *ptólis Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis)lbor. English polis Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis, “fortified town; city state”). Doublet of Puri and puri

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A Greek city-state.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- Proto-Hellenic *ptólis Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis)lbor. English polis Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis, “fortified town; city state”). Doublet of Puri and puri

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Learned-borrowing mentionπόλιςgrc · fortified town; city state
  • Doublet mentionPurien
  • Doublet mentionpurien
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "grc:πόλις<id:city>",
        "id": "city-state",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *tpelH-\nProto-Hellenic *ptólis\nAncient Greek πόλις (pólis)lbor.\nEnglish polis\n[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"city\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"city\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"city\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*tpelH-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*ptólis\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"πόλις\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"polis\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"city-state\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"polis\" id=\"English:_city-state\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "lbor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "πόλις",
        "t": "fortified town; city state"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis, “fortified town; city state”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Puri",
        "3": "puri"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of Puri and puri"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "grc:πόλις<id:city>",
        "id": "city-state",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *tpelH-\nProto-Hellenic *ptólis\nAncient Greek πόλις (pólis)lbor.\nEnglish polis"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*tpelH-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tpelH-#Proto-Indo-European:_city"
    ],
    [
      "*ptólis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Hellenic/ptólis#Proto-Hellenic:_city"
    ],
    [
      "πόλις",
      "πόλις#Ancient_Greek:_city"
    ],
    [
      "πόλις",
      "πόλις#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "Puri",
      "Puri#English"
    ],
    [
      "puri",
      "puri#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A Greek city-state."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
      "recordId": "5840b184014235a2b80f5458a1ef4b7d28f835ee2a990de64053119c74ffbe96",
      "rawRecordSha256": "67e812af8f5f6ca2769391ab917c81606c4e727fc4a039f5dc1e90a8eabecbee",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 299518
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

The police. · A police officer.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Scots polis. Doublet of police, policy, and polity.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "police"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sco",
        "3": "polis"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots polis"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "police",
        "3": "policy",
        "4": "polity"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of police, policy, and polity"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "polis",
      "polis#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "police",
      "police#English"
    ],
    [
      "policy",
      "policy#English"
    ],
    [
      "polity",
      "polity#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The police.",
        "A police officer."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Geordie",
        "Ireland",
        "Scotland",
        "uncountable",
        "countable"
      ],
      "recordId": "9704e7aae4395005320d54a009a8f87b16627d8b0282165e04831ba85dce2119",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c18f41f3898309690f938dd9c14ece6de096502942c0dc2aeb64387c16e934fe",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 299519
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for polis →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cG9saXM