# Opolis vs Apolis **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241 "2017-01-03T17:53:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/1 "2017-01-03T17:53:15Z")
Some cities have the “apolis” ending like Indianapolis, others have the “opolis” ending like Metropolis" I realize it’s from the Greek polis, but is there a difference between opolis and apolis? Or are the letter “a” and “o” interchangeable or merely stylistic? thanks ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/2 "2017-01-03T18:06:58Z")
Given that the “a” in “Indianapolis” almost undoubtedly comes from the final “a” in “Indiana”, rather than being part of the structure of “polis”, I suspect it’s just a matter of style. Also, other than “Minneapolis”, I can’t think of any other place names ending in -polis. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/3 "2017-01-03T18:10:26Z")
Similarly the o in metropolis likely comes from metro. One where they did seem to make a choice is Minneapolis. I’d assume that could have been Minneopolis as there’s no a there in Minnesota. Others are Annapolis and Cassopolis Michigan. so it looks like a or o ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/4 "2017-01-03T18:16:35Z")
Plus: Demopolis, Alabama Kannapolis, North Carolina Cosmopolis, Washington Gallipolis, Ohio Lithopolis, Ohio Uniopolis, Ohio ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/5 "2017-01-03T18:28:05Z")
IIRC, “polis” comes from the ancient greek word meaning “city-state”. Athens and Sparta were polises (poli?) ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/6 "2017-01-03T18:28:13Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Also, other than “Minneapolis”, I can’t think of any other place names ending in -polis. [Centropolis, Kansas](https://www.google.com/maps/@38.7151588,-95.347295,3a,75y,325.58h,84.22t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3s84qF5FpNv-yrRZhLk3Xw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) (granted, it hasn’t had a post office since 1930, but there’s still sort of a town there) [Kanopolis, Kansas,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanopolis,_Kansas) is slightly more organized; the population is almost 500! There’s also Annapolis, Maryland. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/7 "2017-01-03T19:08:42Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > IIRC, “polis” comes from the ancient greek word meaning “city-state”. Athens and Sparta were polises (poli?) Polities, I think. The plural of _polis_ in classical Greek is _poleis_. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/8 "2017-01-04T00:57:17Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Given that the “a” in “Indianapolis” almost undoubtedly comes from the final “a” in “Indiana”, rather than being part of the structure of “polis”, I suspect it’s just a matter of style. > > Also, other than “Minneapolis”, I can’t think of any other place names ending in -polis. There are scores of them. Apart from those already mentioned, all of which are in the US, I can think of Adrianopolis, Constaninopolis [better known to us as Constantinople], Alexandropolis, Heliopolis, Neapolis [Naples], Persepolis, Petropolis. The suffix is _-polis_. You can link this to the stem with an ‘o’ or an ‘a’, according to whichever seems more euphonious. I suspect, but I don’t know, that in the names coined by Greek-speaking cultures the choice of ‘o’ or ‘a’ is driven by the grammatical gender of the stem word, but this may not be true of modern coinages by English-speaking cultures. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/9 "2017-01-04T01:24:24Z")
The same word also gives us “police” and “politics”. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/10 "2017-01-04T03:12:06Z")
…and policy. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opolis-vs-apolis/776241/11 "2017-01-04T03:28:23Z")
> [@kenobi65](#): > > Also, other than “Minneapolis”, I can’t think of any other place names ending in -polis. Annapolis.