“towns” is a form of
town
/ˈtaʊ̯n/ noun, proper noun
Forms towns tahn tawn toon toune towne
- noun A settlement; an area with residential districts, shops and amenities, and its own local government; especially one larger than a village and smaller than a city, historically enclosed by a fence or walls, with total populations ranging from several hundred to more than a hundred thousand (as of the early 21st century) “This town is really dangerous because these youngsters have Beretta handguns.”
- noun Any more urbanized centre than the place of reference. “I'll be in Yonkers, then I'm driving into town to see the Knicks at the Garden tonight.”
- noun (UK, historical) A rural settlement in which a market was held at least once a week.
- noun The residents (as opposed to gown: the students, faculty, etc.) of a community which is the site of a university.
- noun (colloquial, used without an article) Used to refer to a town or similar entity under discussion. “Call me when you get to town.”
- noun A major city, especially one where the speaker is located.
- noun (zoology) An interconnected maze of tunnels in which prairie dogs live.
- noun (informal, real estate) A townhouse.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A community and ward in Merthyr Tydfil borough county borough, Wales, in Merthyr Tydfil town centre.
- proper noun (England, traditional, in phrases such as 'in Town' or 'to Town', also without capital) London, especially central London.
Synonyms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English toun, from Old English tūn, from Proto-West Germanic *tūn, from Proto-Germanic *tūną, borrowed from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“stronghold, rampart”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *duh₂-nós (“lasting, durable”), from *dewh₂- (“to last”) + *-nós.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tuun (“garden”), West Frisian tún (“enclosure, garden”), Dutch tuin (“garden”), German Low German Tuun (“fence”), German Zaun (“fence”), Danish tun, Swedish tun and Norwegian Nynorsk tun (“yard”); also archaic Welsh din (“hill”), Irish dún (“fortress”). Doublet of dun. See also -ton and tine (“to enclose”).
From the noun town.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Formerly: (a) An inclosure which surrounded the mere homestead or dwelling of the lord of the manor. [Obs.] (b) The whole of the land which constituted the domain. [Obs.] (c) A collection of houses inclosed by fences or walls. [Obs.] Palsgrave.
- noun Any number or collection of houses to which belongs a regular market, and which is not a city or the see of a bishop. [Eng.]
Etymology [OE. toun, tun, AS. tun inclosure, fence, village, town; akin to D. tuin a garden, G. zaun a hadge, fence, OHG. zun, Icel. tun an inclosure, homestead, house, Ir. & Gael. dun a fortress, W. din. Cf. Down, adv. & prep., Dune, tine to inclose.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “town”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details