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adj. 1. a. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a major city: crowded metropolitan streets; a metropolitan newspaper. b. Of or constituting a large city or urbanized area, including adjacent suburbs and towns: the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area; a metropolitan county. 2. Of, relating to, or constituting the home territory of an imperial or colonial state. 3. Of or relating to an ecclesiastical metropolitan. n. 1. A citizen of a metropolis, especially one who displays urbane characteristics, attitudes, and values. 2. a. In the Western Christian churches, a bishop with provincial powers, with some authority over suffragan bishops. b. In most Eastern Orthodox churches, a bishop who is head of an ecclesiastical province and ranks next below the patriarch. c. In the Greek Orthodox church, a bishop ranking next below an archbishop. [Middle English, of a metropolitan bishop, from Late Latin mētropolītānus, metropolitan, from Greek mētropolītēs, citizen of a metropolis, from mētropolis, mother city; see METROPOLIS.] |
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