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Added 9 October 2026

town

/ˈtaʊ̯n/ noun

In Latin: oppidum Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about town at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city.
they drive through town on their way to work
The people living in a municipality smaller than a city.
the whole town cheered the team
An administrative division of a county.
the town is responsible for snow removal

Origin

Inherited from Middle English toun, from Old English tūn, from Proto-West Germanic *tūn, from Proto-Germanic *tūną, borrowed from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“stronghold, rampart”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *duh₂-nós (“lasting, durable”), from *dewh₂- (“to last”) + *-nós. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tuun (“garden”), West Frisian tún (“enclosure, garden”), Dutch tuin (“garden”), German Low German Tuun (“fence”), German Zaun (“fence”), Danish tun, Swedish tun and Norwegian Nynorsk tun (“yard”); also archaic Welsh din (“hill”), Irish dún (“fortress”). Doublet of dun. See also -ton and tine (“to enclose”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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