township
/ˈtaʊnʃɪp/noun
township is spelled T-O-W-N-S-H-I-P: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 9.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,338th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, township means “The territory of a town” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of township is townships.
How many letters and syllables are in township?
| Letters | 8: T-O-W-N-S-H-I-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.5 times per million words; the 7,338th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is township?
Township appears 9.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,338th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce township?
- UK /ˈtaʊnʃɪp/
Township has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-township.ogg, En-us-township.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of township
- townships plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does township mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The territory of a town.
- 2
CanadaUSA subdivision of a county.
- 3
An area set aside for nonwhite occupation.
- 4
A nonwhite (usually subeconomic) area attached to a city.
- 5
AustraliaA small town.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate township?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of township: Twp, Twp., twp.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Township in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Township , Kanton , Zaunschaft |
| Portuguese | municipalidade , township |
| Spanish | municipio |
| French | canton |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does township come from?
From Middle English towneship, townschip, tounshipe, tunscipe, from Old English tūnsċipe (“the inhabitants of a town; township”), equivalent to town + -ship.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).