metropolitan Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun in the Eastern Orthodox Church this title is given to a position between bishop and patriarch; equivalent to archbishop in western Christianity
  2. noun a person who lives in a metropolis
  3. adjective relating to or characteristic of a metropolis
    • metropolitan area

WordNet

Met`ro*pol"i*tan adjective
Etymology
L. metropolitanus: cf. F. métropolitain.
Definitions
  1. Of or pertaining to the capital or principal city of a country; as, metropolitan luxury.
  2. (Eccl.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a metropolitan or the presiding bishop of a country or province, his office, or his dignity; as, metropolitan authority. "Bishops metropolitan." Sir T. More.
Met`ro*pol"i*tan noun
Etymology
LL. metropolitanus.
Definitions
  1. The superior or presiding bishop of a country or province.
  2. (Lat. Church.) An archbishop.
  3. (Gr. Church) A bishop whose see is civil metropolis. His rank is intermediate between that of an archbishop and a patriarch. Hook.

Webster 1913