different between township vs country

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)

English

Alternative forms

• contree, countrey (archaic)
• contrey, countrie (obsolete)
• counthry (pronunciation spelling)

Etymology

From Middle English contre, contree, borrowed from Old French contree, from Vulgar Latin (terra) contr?ta (“(land) lying opposite; (land) spread before”), derived from Latin contra (“against, opposite”). Cognate with Scots kintra.

Pronunciation

• enPR: k?n'tri
  • (UK, US, Canada) IPA^(key): /?k?nt?i/, [?k??nt??????i], /?k?nt??/
  • (General Australian, General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /?k?nt?i/
• Rhymes: -?nt?i
• Hyphenation: coun?try

Noun

country (plural countries)

1. (chiefly British) An area of land; a district, region. [from 13th c.]
   • 2010, David Vann, The Observer, 7 Mar 2010:

     We walk along flat, open country, red dirt and spinifex grass, a few short trees […].

2. A set region of land having particular human occupation or agreed limits, especially inhabited by members of the same race, speakers of the same language etc., or associated with a given person, occupation, species etc. [from 13th c.]
   • 2007, Chris Moss, The Guardian, 17 Feb 2007:

     This is condor country - the only region this far east where you can see the magnificent vulture - and a small national park straddling the passes, El Condorito, is a good stopover for walkers and birders.

3. The territory of a nation, especially an independent nation state or formerly independent nation; a political entity asserting ultimate authority over a geographical area; a sovereign state. [from 14th c.]
   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, page 3:

     It is a beautiful country of rolling hills, fertile valleys, and a thousand rivers and streams which keep the landscape green even in winter.

   • 2010, The Economist, 3 Feb 2011:

     These days corporate Germany looks rather different. Volkswagen, the country’s leading carmaker, wants to be the world’s biggest by 2018.
5. (uncountable, usually preceded by “the”) A rural area, as opposed to a town or city; the countryside. [from 16th c.]
   • 2000, Alexander Chancellor, The Guardian, 4 Mar.:

     I have always thought that one of the main reasons for the popularity of blood sports in the country is the pointlessness of going outdoors with no purpose or destination in mind.

6. Ellipsis of country music [from 20th c.]

7. (mining) The rock through which a vein runs.

Usage notes

The geographical sense of "country" usually refers to a sovereign state, that is, a nation with no administrative dependence on another one, which is the definition adopted in most world maps. In a broader sense, however, "country" may also refer to nations with some degree of autonomy and cultural identity but still under the sovereignty of another state. Examples of the latter include Scotland, Tibet, Abkhazia, and Greenland.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: kondre

Translations

See also

• Appendix:Countries of the world

Adjective

country (not comparable)

1. From or in the countryside or connected with it.
2. Of or connected to country music.

Translations

References

• country at OneLook Dictionary Search
• country in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• "country" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 81.
• country in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Finnish

Alternative forms

• kantri

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English country.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k?ntri/, [?k?n?t?ri]

Noun

country

1. country music

Declension

Synonyms

• countrymusiikki
• kantrimusiikki

French

Etymology

From English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kœ?.t?i/

Noun

country m (uncountable)

1. country music

Italian

Etymology

From English

Noun

country m (invariable)

1. (music) country music

Polish

Etymology

From English country music.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kan.tr?/

Noun

country n (indeclinable)

1. country, country music

Derived terms

• (adjectives) country'owy, countrowy

Further reading

• country in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• country in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English country.

The pronunciation reflects the incorrect belief that the <oun> represents /a?n/ in the English etymon.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /?kaw?.t?i/

Noun

country m (uncountable)

1. country music

Spanish

Etymology

English. Doublet of contrada.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kant?i/, [?kãn?.t??i]

Noun

country m (uncountable)

1. country music

Swedish

Etymology

From English

Noun

country c (uncountable)

1. country music

Declension