Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Town
Town
(toun)
, Noun.
1.
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.
2.
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.]
Johnson.
3.
Any collection of houses larger than a village, and not incorporated as a city; also, loosely, any large, closely populated place, whether incorporated or not, in distinction from the country, or from rural communities.
God made the country, and man made the
town
. Cowper.
4.
The body of inhabitants resident in a town;
as, the
. town
voted to send two representatives to the legislature; the town
voted to lay a tax for repairing the highways5.
A township; the whole territory within certain limits, less than those of a country.
[U. S.]
6.
The court end of London; – commonly with the.
7.
The metropolis or its inhabitants;
as, in winter the gentleman lives in
. town
; in summer, in the countryAlways hankering after the diversions of the
town
. Addison.
Stunned with his giddy larum half the
town
. Pope.
☞ The same form of expressions is used in regard to other populous towns.
8.
A farm or farmstead; also, a court or farmyard.
[Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
☞ Town is often used adjectively or in combination with other words; as, town clerk, or town-clerk; town-crier, or town crier; townhall, town-hall, or town hall; townhouse, town house, or town-house.
Syn. – Village; hamlet. See
Village
. Town clerk
, an office who keeps the records of a town, and enters its official proceedings. See
– Clerk
. Town cress
(Bot.)
, the garden cress, or peppergrass.
Dr. Prior.
– Town house
. (a)
A house in town, in distinction from a house in the country.
(b)
See
– Townhouse
. Town meeting
, a legal meeting of the inhabitants of a town entitled to vote, for the transaction of public bisiness.
[U. S.]
– Town talk
, the common talk of a place; the subject or topic of common conversation.
Webster 1828 Edition
Town
TOWN
, n.1.
Originally, a walled or fortified place; a collection of houses inclosed with walls, hedges or pickets for safety. Rahab's house was on the town wall. Josh. 2. A town that hath gates and bars. 1 Sam. 23.
2.
Any collection of houses, larger than a village. In this use the word is very indefinite, and a town may consist of twenty houses, or of twenty thousand.3.
In England, any number of houses to which belongs a regular market, and which is not a city or the see of a bishop.A town, in modern times, is generally without walls, which is the circumstance that usually distinguishes it from a city.
In the United States, the circumstance that distinguishes a town from a city, is generally that a city is incorporated with special privileges, and a town is not. But a city is often called a town.
4.
The inhabitants of a town. The town voted to send two representatives to the legislature, or they voted to lay a tax for repairing the highways.5.
In popular usage, in America, a township; the whole territory within certain limits.6.
In England,the court end of London.7.
The inhabitants of the metropolis.8.
The metropolis. The gentleman lives in town in winter; in summer he lives in the country. The same form of expression is used in regard to other populous towns.