polis meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

polis

noun

/ˈpɒ.lɪs/ · /ˈpoʊ.lɪs/

Etymology Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis, “fortified town; city state”). Doublet of Puri and puri

Historical A Greek city-state.

By the end of the century, poleis had been established throughout the Hellenic world, all bearing a marked family resemblance.2006, Karen Armstrong, The Great Transformation, Atlantic Books 2007, page 161:

noun

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

'Oh, don't bring in the polis on me, kind gentleman,' implored Mrs Laffey with redoubled fluency; 'the dirty, thievin' sergeant that set the lie against me a short while back over Mister Johnson's sthrayin' pullets, it's little justice I should ever see. Be the good kind gentleman—'1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries:
Even in his Ma's womb, you would have had to define Spud less as a foetus, more as a set of dormant drug and personality problems. He'd probably draw the polis onto them through knocking a saltcellar out of the Little Chef.1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 328: