TOWNSHIP Definition & Meaning

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township

[ toun-ship ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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.
(in U.S. surveys of public land) a region or district approximately 6 miles square (93.2 sq. km), containing 36 sections.
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.
(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.
(formerly, in South Africa) a segregated residential settlement for Black people, located outside a city or town.

township

/ ˈ�ٲ�ʊ��ʃɪ�� /

noun

a small town
(in the Scottish Highlands and islands) a small crofting community
(in the US and Canada) a territorial area, esp a subdivision of a county: often organized as a unit of local government
(formerly, in South Africa) a planned urban settlement of Black Africans or Coloured people Compare location
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

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of township¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English tounship “c�ǳ��ܲԾ��ٲ�,” Old English ��ū�Բ�� “village community”; town, -ship

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

One source, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said aid groups are often required to remove certain activities, areas or townships from their proposals, with no room for negotiation.

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Hours after the quake struck on Friday, the junta launched an air strike in Naungcho township that killed seven people.

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In a nearby township, rescue workers found the bodies of 12 preschool children and a teacher under a building housing a kindergarten.

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"It went through my fingers. It went through everybody's fingers, it was so little," the 68-year-old said on the phone last year from his nephew's home in Langa township in Cape Town, where he lived.

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He went on to work with the Serpent Players, a group of black actors, and performed in black townships, despite harassment from the apartheid regime's security forces.

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