Definify.com
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.
Definition 2024
township
township
English
Noun
township (plural townships)
- The territory of a town; a subdivision of a county.
- (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"
- (South Africa, Post 1994) A nonwhite (usually subeconomic) area attached to a city.
Descendants
- Portuguese: township
Translations
territory of a town
|
area set aside for nonwhite occupation in South Africa
|
Related terms
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.