township

[toun-ship]

noun

1. a unit of local government, usually a subdivision of a county, found in most midwestern and northeastern states of the U.S. and in most Canadian provinces.

2. (in U.S. surveys of public land) a region or district approximately 6 miles square (93.2 sq. km), containing 36 sections.

3. English History.

   1. one of the local divisions or districts of a large parish, each containing a village or small town, usually with a church of its own.

   2. the manor, parish, etc., itself.

   3. its inhabitants.

4. (in Australia)

   1. a small town or settlement serving as the business center of a rural area.

   2. the business center of a town or suburb.

5. (formerly, in South Africa) a segregated residential settlement for Black people, located outside a city or town.

township

/ ˈtaʊnʃɪp /

noun

1. a small town

2. (in the Scottish Highlands and islands) a small crofting community

3. (in the US and Canada) a territorial area, esp a subdivision of a county: often organized as a unit of local government

4. (formerly, in South Africa) a planned urban settlement of Black Africans or Coloured people Compare location

5. English history

   1. any of the local districts of a large parish, each division containing a village or small town

   2. the particular manor or parish itself as a territorial division

   3. the inhabitants of a township collectively

Word History and Origins

Origin of township¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English tounship “community,” Old English tūnscipe “village community”; town, -ship

Example Sentences

Situated on the edge of the iconic Soweto township and chosen as a symbol of post-apartheid "spatial integration", the venue hosts large-scale events such as the ruling African National Congress annual congress.

Read more on Barron's

In cities and townships, families have been gathering for the funerals of the crackdown victims.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His flights of fancy— malevolent music, undead scholars, imaginary brothers, a cult led by a guru with 93 Ferraris in an “experimental township” called the Moon — are more controlled and add subtle strokes of color.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In Port Sheldon, the township where Campbell sits, there was little disagreement over plans to close the aging facility, said township supervisor Michael A. Sabatino.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Leonora and her small team visited communities in the townships around her home in Cape Town, speaking to residents about their experiences of abuse and the ways technology fits into their lives.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• area 
• colony 
• country 
• district 
• enclave 
• field 
• land 
• nation 
• neighborhood 
• province 
• sector 
• state 
• street 
• terrain 
• zone