town

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A place where people live and work, larger than a village but smaller than a city.

   She grew up in a small town by the sea.

2. 2
   noun

   The central or busy part of a town or city.

   Call me when you get to town.

3. 3
   noun

   The people who live in a town.

   The whole town cheered the team.

Common collocations

• a small town Adjective + noun
• an old town Adjective + noun
• leave town Verb + noun
• a market town Adjective + noun
• shire town Noun + noun
• town crier Noun + noun

From Middle English toun, from Old English tūn (“enclosure, garden”), from Proto-West Germanic *tūn, from Proto-Germanic *tūną (“fence, enclosure”), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *dūnom, from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to finish, come full circle”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tuun (“garden”), West Frisian tún (“enclosure, garden”), Dutch tuin (“garden”), German Low German Tuun (“fence”), German Zaun (“fence”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian tun (“yard”); also archaic Welsh din (“hill”), Irish dún (“fortress”). Doublet of dun. See also -ton and tine (“to enclose”).

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images