metropolis

(mĭ-trŏpˈə-lĭs)

1. A major city, especially the chief city of a country or region: Chicago, the metropolis of the Midwest.
2. A city or an urban area regarded as the center of a specific activity: a great cultural metropolis.
3. Ecclesiastical The chief see of a metropolitan bishop.
4. The mother city or country of an overseas colony, especially in ancient Greece.