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townspeople

townspeople

39 2.7
People who live in a town, not in the countryside
  • noun
  • /ˈtaʊnspiːpəl/
translation icon : habitante
  • The townspeople gathered at the square to discuss the new park proposal.
  • Most of the townspeople
  • townspeople gathered
  • townspeople and villagers

They stole a bunch of supplies like water and food from the townspeople.

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Examples

  • Even if they are farmers, they are townspeople borrowing the land; they have no right to it.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • And we need the local townspeople to help to dig trenches for the water pipes and to help construct the actual physical facility.

  • Having found out from Mary that he was in trouble, the townspeople have raised the necessary money.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • All the townspeople will be invited for the reception.

  • The streets lay empty; nearly all the townspeople were still at the arena.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • But as they begin to leave, the blind man calls out to the townspeople that he is being robbed.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The townspeople were scared.

  • The young priest gathered the townspeople in the town square and made several shocking revelations.

  • Every hotel and motel was filled, and the townspeople made money renting out their spare rooms to skiers.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Olson and other townspeople see the girls struggling and team up to stack all the grain, allowing Charles to keep his oxen.

Synonyms

local community
vstownspeople
48 2.8

A group of people who live near each other and share interests

is about people living in a town rather than social identity or shared interests
towner
vstownspeople
17 8.6

A person who lives in a town or city rather than in the countryside

is the general term for town residents distinct from rural dwellers
townsfolk
vstownspeople
14 3.2

People who live in a small community with shops and houses

is the general name for residents of a town rather than countryside
townie
vstownspeople
  • Informal
13 8.9

A person who lives in a town, not a student or visitor

is broader, applying to all town residents not only locals or outsiders
burgher
vstownspeople
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A town or city resident in medieval times with special rights

is a general term for town residents, not limited to historical civic status
townee
vstownspeople
  • Offensive
1 9.8

A person who lives in a town and seems out of place in the country

is a neutral term for town inhabitants rather than a negative stereotype

How Rural

townspeople
39 2.7

Surface Forms

townspeople singular
townspeople plural

Morphology

townspeople = town + people (transparent) = town + people

The meaning is directly recoverable from the components 'town' and 'people', with the linking plural form adding no major semantic shift.

Etymology

The word townspeople combines town and people, so it literally means the 'people who live in a town'. That's why townspeople refers to the group of people who live in a town, not those in the countryside.