Etimology
From Middle English toun, from Old English tūn (“enclosure, garden”), from Proto-Germanic *tūną (“fence”) (compare West Frisian tún, Dutch tuin (“garden”), German Zaun, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian tun), from Gaulish dūnom (“hill, hillfort”), from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (compare archaic Welsh din (“hill”), Irish dún (“fortress”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to finish, come full circle”). Doublet of dun. See also -ton and tine (“to enclose”).
noun
town (countable and uncountable, plural towns)
A settlement; an area with residential districts, shops and amenities, and its own local government; especially one larger than a village and smaller than a city, historically enclosed by a fence or walls, with total populations ranging from several hundred to more than a hundred thousand (as of the early 21st century)
Any more urbanized centre than the place of reference.
(UK, historical) A rural settlement in which a market was held at least once a week.
The residents (as opposed to gown: the students, faculty, etc.) of a community which is the site of a university.
(colloquial) Used to refer to a town or similar entity under discussion.
A major city, especially one where the speaker is located.
(informal) A townhouse.
(law) A municipal organization, such as a corporation, defined by the laws of the entity of which it is a part.
(obsolete) An enclosure which surrounded the mere homestead or dwelling of the lord of the manor; by extension, the whole of the land which constituted the domain.
(UK, Scotland, dialect, obsolete) A farm or farmstead; also, a court or farmyard.
(England, traditional, also Town, in phrases such as 'in town' or 'to town') London, especially central London.
Examples
This town is really dangerous because these youngsters have Beretta handguns.
Apparently the first reference to the making of the town walls of Stafford occurs in the Patent Rolls, from which we find that in 1225 permission was granted by the king to the "good men of Stafford” to collect customs or tolls for a period to enable them to enclose the town.
Walls separated town and country through much of the early modern period. Walls not only protected towns, they also helped give them a sense of autonomy and identity.
Fortifications and town walls clearly highlight the central military significance of towns.
As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast. Last year 1m square metres of plant-covered roofing was built in France, as much as in the US, and 10 times more than in Germany, the pioneer in this field. In Paris 22 hectares of roof have been planted, out of a potential total of 80 hectares.
The medieval town, at least in continental Europe, was walled, and without its defences it was no town.
I'll be in Yonkers, then I'm driving into town to see the Knicks at the Garden tonight.
Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.
Call me when you get to town.
I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting […] , and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town.
There's always a business theme, even underlying happy hours. You're never off the clock in this town.
Detached houses always sell faster than towns or semis.
It's not just market forces that are bringing out the semis and towns. Municipalities are requiring developers to build a mix of homes into their new planned communities, partly out of a concession to make more efficient use of virgin land, but also to address the need for more affordable housing for families who might not be able to crack a $300,000 mortgage.
Related words
hypernyms
settlement