different between state vs township

English

Etymology

Middle English (as a noun); adopted c. 1200 from both Old French estat and Latin status (“manner of standing, attitude, position, carriage, manner, dress, apparel; and other senses”), from stare (“to stand”). Doublet of estate and status. The sense of "polity" develops in the 14th century. Compare French être, Greek ???? (stéo), Italian stare, Portuguese estar, Romanian sta, and Spanish estar.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ste?t/
• Rhymes: -e?t

Noun

state (plural states)

2. A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.
   1. (physics) A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.
      • 1977, J. B. Sykes and John Stewart Bell, translating Lev Landau and Evgeny Lifshitz, Course of Theoretical Physics Vol. 3: Quantum Mechanics: Non-relativistic Theory, p.28:

        States in which the energy has definite values are called stationary states of a system; they are described by wave functions ?_n which are the eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian operator, i.e. which satisfy the equation ??_n = E_n?_n, where E_n are the eigenvalues of the energy.

   2. (computing) The stable condition of a processor during a particular clock cycle.

   3. (computing) The set of all parameters relevant to a computation.

   4. (computing) The values of all parameters at some point in a computation.

   5. (sciences) The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma.
   6. (obsolete) Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.
3. High social standing or circumstance.
   1. Pomp, ceremony, or dignity.

   2. Rank; condition; quality.
      • c. 1593, William Shakespeare, Richard III, [Act I, Scene iii]:

        And le?ned by that ?mall, God I be?eech him, / Thy honor, ?tate, and ?eate, is due to me.

   3. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
   4. A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
   5. (obsolete) A great person, a dignitary; a lord or prince.
      • 1644, John Milton, Aeropagitica, page 1:

        They who to States and Governours of the Commonwealth direct their Speech, High Court of Parlament, or wanting ?uch acce??e in a private condition, write that which they fore?ee may advance the publick good?; I ?uppo?e them as at the beginning of no meane endeavour, not a little alter’d and mov’d inwardly in their mindes […]

   6. (obsolete) Estate, possession.
5. A polity.
   1. Any sovereign polity; a national or city-state government.
      • a. 1949, Albert Einstein, as quoted by Virgil Henshaw in Albert Einstein: Philosopher Scientist (1949)

        Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.
   2. A political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy, as in the United States, Germany, or Australia.
   3. (obsolete) A form of government other than a monarchy.
   4. (anthropology) A society larger than a tribe. A society large enough to form a state in the sense of a government.
6. (mathematics, stochastic processes) An element of the range of the random variables that define a random process.
7. (grammar, semantics) The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that do not change over time.

   Antonym: occurrence

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Pages starting with “state”.

Translations

Verb

state (third-person singular simple present states, present participle stating, simple past and past participle stated)

1. (transitive) To declare to be a fact.

   • Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.

2. (transitive) To make known.

Usage notes

State is stronger or more definitive than say. It is used to communicate an absence of reasonable doubt and to emphasize the factual or truthful nature of the communication.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:communicate

Translations

Adjective

state (comparative more state, superlative most state)

1. (obsolete) Stately.

Related terms

• estate
• statistics
• status
• State

See also

• department
• province

Further reading

• state on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• state at OneLook Dictionary Search
• state in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• state in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• state in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Satet, Testa, Tetas, aetts, atest, taste, teats, testa

Afrikaans

Noun

state

1. plural of staat

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sta.te/
• Rhymes: -ate
• Hyphenation: stà?te

Etymology 1

Apheretic form of estate.

Noun

state f (plural stati)

1. (Tuscany) Alternative form of estate

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

state

1. inflection of stare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Participle

state

1. feminine plural of stato

Anagrams

• setta, testa

References

• state in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti

Latin

Verb

st?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of st?

Participle

state

1. vocative masculine singular of status

English

Etymology

From Middle English towneship, townschip, tounshipe, tunscipe, from Old English t?ns?ipe (“the inhabitants of a town; township”), equivalent to town +? -ship.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?ta?n??p/

Noun

township (plural townships)

1. The territory of a town.
2. (US, Canada) a subdivision of a county.
3. (South Africa, Pre 1994) An area set aside for nonwhite occupation.
   • 1972, Daily Dispatch: "In addition, the council has completed the planning of a new Coloured township on the site of the existing African township"
4. (South Africa, Post 1994) A nonwhite (usually subeconomic) area attached to a city.
5. (Australia, New Zealand) a small town.

Usage notes

In the U.S. (derived from an obsolete UK usage), the term "township" refers to a division of a county, and may include one or more towns, villages, hamlets, or small cities. It may also be an administrative district for an unincorporated rural area. The exact nature of a township, and its role in local administration, differs from state to state.

Related terms

• squatter camp

Descendants

• Portuguese: township

Translations

References

1978: A Dictionary of South African English edited by Jean Branford. Oxford.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tawn.?ip/

Noun

township m (plural townships)

1. township (in South Africa)
2. (Canada) canton

Portuguese

Noun

township

1. (historical) township (area set aside for non-white occupation in South Africa)