township
nounUK /ˈtaʊnʃɪp/
Etymology From Middle English towneship, townschip, tounshipe, tunscipe, from Old English tūnsċipe (“the inhabitants of a town; township”), equivalent to town + -ship.
1
The territory of a town.
- The train is usually crowded and half the township of Forres seems to turn out to watch it go off.1944 January and February, W. McGowan Gradon, “Forres as a Railway Centre”, in Railway Magazine, page 23:
- Furthermore, everyone knows that the crops grown at Chou-Shui River are of high quality, like the rice of Siluo Township, watermelons of Erlun Township, garlic of Cihtong Township, flowers of Shijo Township, guava of Shetou Township, and so on.2010, Rajib Shaw, Danai Thaitakoo, Water Communities, Emerald Books, →ISBN, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 252:
1 more example
- Tondop said the township of Mendi is slowly getting back to normal.2018 June 18, Joshua Berlinger, “Papua New Guinea declares 9-month state of emergency due to riots”, in CNN, archived from the original on 27 Jan 2022:
3
South Africa An area set aside for nonwhite occupation.
- In addition, the council has completed the planning of a new Coloured township on the site of the existing African township.1972, Daily Dispatch:
4
South Africa A nonwhite (usually subeconomic) area attached to a city.
- Growing up in the township of Zwide, just outside Port Elizabeth, bed for Kolisi was a pile of cushions on the living-room floor and finding enough to eat was a daily struggle. […] So, the man from the townships can certainly empathize with the pain lockdown is inflicting on the less fortunate in his country.2020 April 28, Christina Macfarlane, “‘There is nothing worse than hunger,’ says South Africa hero Siya Kolisi of helping townships during lockdown”, in CNN, archived from the original on 19 Jun 2025:
5
Australia, New Zealand A small town.
- Derived terms
- Bristol Township, Eastern Townships, Laugharne Township, paper township, township music, townshipwide
- Related terms
- squatter camp