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Synonyms

townsman

American  
[taunz-muhn] / ˈtaʊnz mən /

noun

  • townsmen
    plural
  1. a native or inhabitant of a town.

  2. a native or inhabitant of one's own or the same town.

  3. (in New England) a selectman.


townsman British  
/ ˈtaʊnzmən /

noun

  1. an inhabitant of a town

  2. a person from the same town as oneself

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Gender

See -man.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns


Etymology

Origin of townsman

before 1000; Middle English; Old English tūnesman fellow member of a township. See town, 's 1, man


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

He was watching television when he spotted his fellow townsman, Mr. Johnson.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 31, 2021

A boy and his new friend hatch a plan to save a community of mischievous cavern-dwellers from the villainous townsman who plans to exterminate them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2019

A townsman with a plane jetted to Memphis to buy the team proper cleats.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2018

A cad, according to one definition, may have been an academy student, or townsman originally - Etonian slang for someone who doesn't quite cut it as a gentleman.

From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2013

To Ged, however, it seemed a city, and not knowing where to go he asked the first townsman of Thwil he met where he would find the Warder of the School on Roke.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin

It was claimed that townsmen wanted to spare Alice Bailey from testifying in court.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 26, 2021

Hayes, like his L.A. townsmen, was a Southern sympathizer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2021

Like other English monarchs, Elizabeth shared power with Parliament, a legislature that included the House of Lords for nobles and bishops and the House of Commons for members chosen by townsmen and rural landowners.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

“I see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune is to have inherited farms, houses, barns, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired than got rid of.”

From The Guardian ● Apr. 24, 2017

Even today, two townsmen stand on either side of the opening, night and day, taking eight-hour shifts.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

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