noun
township
TOWN-shihp
noun
1
A small administrative division of a county or district, often rural.
"The township holds its budget meeting every spring."
"Several small townships were merged into a single municipality."
2
In South Africa, an underdeveloped urban area that was historically set aside for non-white residents under apartheid.
"The tour included a visit to a township outside Cape Town."
How to Use Township
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA small local government area, or (in South Africa) a segregated urban district from the apartheid era.
UK vs US
In the US and Canada it usually just means a small local government subdivision; in South Africa it has a specific, historically loaded meaning.
Word Forms
townships plural
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The _____ holds its budget meeting every spring.
Etymology
From Old English tunscipe, "the people of a town," built from town plus the suffix -ship (meaning "state" or "condition").