hamlet

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈhæmlət/ UK /ˈhæmlɪt/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a small settlement, generally smaller than a village and without a church

They retired to a quiet hamlet tucked among the hills.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small settlement,... village settlement townshiphamfast

Opposites

city metropolis

Etymology

From Old French hamelet, a double diminutive of ham ('village'), of Germanic origin, akin to Old English hām ('home, dwelling, village').

hamelet Old French hām Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# hamlet

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈhæmlət
**IPA (UK):** ˈhæmlɪt

## Meanings
1. a small settlement, generally smaller than a village and without a church

## Examples
- They retired to a quiet hamlet tucked among the hills.

## Synonyms
- village
- settlement
- township
- hamfast

## Antonyms
- city
- metropolis

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hamelet
- Root: hām

## Etymology
From Old French hamelet, a double diminutive of ham ('village'), of Germanic origin, akin to Old English hām ('home, dwelling, village').

## AI Etymology
hamlet comes from Old French hamelet, a double diminutive of ham ('village'), of Germanic origin, akin to Old English hām ('home, dwelling, village'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: the word passes through the named languages and forms, with each stage preserving part of the modern shape. In present English, the noun sense is "a small settlement, generally smaller than a village and without a church", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. Its semantic neighborhood includes village, settlement, township, and hamfast, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Old French hamelet and Old English hām.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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hamlet

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