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Webster 1913 Edition


Township

Town′ship

,
Noun.
1.
The district or territory of a town.
☞ In the United States, many of the States are divided into townships of five, six, seven, or perhaps ten miles square, and the inhabitants of such townships are invested with certain powers for regulating their own affairs, such as repairing roads and providing for the poor. The township is subordinate to the county.
2.
In surveys of the public land of the United States, a division of territory six miles square, containing 36 sections.
3.
In Canada, one of the subdivisions of a county.

Webster 1828 Edition


Township

TOWN'SHIP

,
Noun.
The district or territory of a town. In New England, the states are divided into townships of five, six, seven, or perhaps ten miles square, and the inhabitants of such townships are invested with certain powers for regulating their own affairs, such as repairing roads, providing for the poor, &c.

Definition 2024


township

township

English

Noun

township (plural townships)

  1. The territory of a town; a subdivision of a county.
  2. (South Africa, Pre 1994) An area set aside for nonwhite occupation.
    • 1972, Daily Dispatch: "In addition, the council has completed the planning of a new Coloured township on the site of the existing African township"
  3. (South Africa, Post 1994) A nonwhite (usually subeconomic) area attached to a city.

Descendants

Translations

Related terms

squatter camp

Usage notes

In the U.S. (derived from an obsolete UK usage), the term "township" refers to a division of a county, and may include one or more towns, villages, hamlets, or small cities. It may also be an administrative district for an unincorporated rural area. The exact nature of a township, and its role in local administration, differs from state to state.

References

1978: A Dictionary of South African English edited by Jean Branford. Oxford.


French

Noun

township m (plural townships)

  1. township (in South Africa)
  2. (Canada) canton

Portuguese

Noun

township f (plural townships)

  1. (historical) township (area set aside for non-white occupation in South Africa)