Town

In American English, a town is usually a municipal corporation that is smaller than a city but larger than a village. In some cases, "town" is an alternate name for "city" or "village" (especially a larger village). Sometimes, the word "town" is short for "township."

Related Topics:
American English - City - Village

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In short, there is no universal, standard definition of the word. This is mostly due to the evolution of the English language as an amalgamation of words from many other languages. "City" and "village" came into English from Latin via French. "Town" and "borough" (also "burrow," "burgh," "bury," etc.) are native English and Scottish words.

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In Old English and Old Scots, "Town" (or "toun," "ton," etc.) originally meant a fortified municipality, whereas a borough was not fortified. But that distinction did not last long, and "Edina Burgh" or "Edinburgh" - modernly called a "city" - was a fortified "town" from its foundung.

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For example, in California (where the term "village" is not used), "town" is simply another word for "city" (especially a "general law city", as distinct from a "charter city"). In New York, "town" is essentially short for "township." Across the pond in England, the only difference between a "city" and a "town" is usually (though not always) the fact that a city has a cathedral church whereas a town has an ordinary church. Thus, within Greater London, there are two cities, each with its own cathedral - the City of London (St. Paul's Cathedral; Anglican) and the City of Westminster (Westminster Cathedral; Roman Catholic - but Westminster Abbey is Anglican); while Camden, which has an ordinary parish church, is Camden Town as opposed to Camden City.

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