Tripoli
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A sedimentary rock composed of the shells of diatoms etc., used for polishing. countable, uncountable
- 2 a weathered and decomposed siliceous limestone; in powdered form it is used in polishing wordnet
- 1 A city in the Peloponnese region, Greece, also known as Tripolis.
- 2 A city in Greece.
- 3 The capital city of Libya, originally three separate settlements known as Oea, Sabratha, and Leptis Magna.
"When he got to Zawiyah, the coastal town west of Tripoli that has become the main hub for the people-smuggling industry, he was kidnapped a second time and held in a tiny cell for six months."
- 4 A city in Lebanon, originally jointly administered by the three cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Aradus.
- 5 A city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States.
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- 6 An unincorporated community in Lincoln County and Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States.
Example
More examples"In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims.""
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian Tripoli, from Latin Tripolis, from Ancient Greek Τρίπολις (Trípolis), from τρι- (tri-, “three”) + πολις (polis, “city, city-state”). In reference to American cities, after US actions off Tripoli in Libya during the First Barbary War. Doublet of Tripolis, Tirebolu, and Tripura.
From modern Greek Τρίπολη (Trípoli) used from the 19th century in place of Byzantine Greek Τριπολιτσά (Tripolitsá), probably from Slavic Droboliza.
Originally brought from Tripoli in Libya.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.