TOWN

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tūn enclosure, village, ~; akin to Old High German zūn enclosure, Old Irish dún fortress Date: before 12th century a cluster or aggregation of houses recognized as a distinct place with a place-name ; hamlet , 2. a compactly settled area as distinguished from surrounding rural territory, a compactly settled area usually larger than a village but smaller than a city, a large densely populated urban area ; city , an English village having a periodic fair or market, a particular ~ or city under consideration , the city or urban life as contrasted with the country, 5. the inhabitants of a city or ~ , the ~speople of a college or university ~ as distinct from the academic community , a New England territorial and political unit usually containing under a single ~ government both rural areas and urban areas not having their own charter of incorporation, a group of prairie dog burrows, ~ adjective