metic - definition, synonyms and pronunciation

Open English WordNet

an alien who paid a fee to reside in an ancient Greek cityType of foreigner, alien

Word of the day · Oct 13About this word

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

Met′ic (? or ?; 277), noun

Origin: Gr. …, prop., changing one's abode; …, indicating change + … house, abode: cf. L. metoecus, F. métèque.

Greek antiquity A sojourner; an immigrant; an alien resident in a Grecian city, but not a citizen. William Mitford

The whole force of Athens, metics as well as citizens, and all the strangers who were then in the city.— Jowett (Thucyd. ).

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54