Acropolis (English)
Where does "Acropolis" come from?
The word Acropolis is derived from the Ancient Greek term 'Akrópolis,' which is a compound of 'ákros,' meaning highest, and 'pólis,' meaning city. This name originally described a citadel or fortified area built on the elevated ground of a Greek city. It was eventually adopted into English to refer specifically to these historic high-ground strongholds, most notably the famous complex in Athens.
Full etymology tree
- Acropolis (English), 'The Athenian Acropolis. (Compare acropolis.)'
- borrowed Ἀκρόπολις (Akrópolis) (Ancient Greek)
- compound ἄκρος (ákros) (Ancient Greek), 'at the edge, extreme, beginning, end: outermost (especially of the top)'
- inherited *h₂eḱrós (Proto-Indo-European), 'sharp'
- compound πόλις (pólis) (Ancient Greek), 'city'
- inherited *ptólis (Proto-Hellenic), 'city'
- inherited *tpólHis (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *tpelH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'fortification, city'
- inherited *tpólHis (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *ptólis (Proto-Hellenic), 'city'
- compound ἄκρος (ákros) (Ancient Greek), 'at the edge, extreme, beginning, end: outermost (especially of the top)'
- borrowed Ἀκρόπολις (Akrópolis) (Ancient Greek)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris