Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “town” come from?

Town comes from Middle English toun, from Old English tūn, from Proto-Germanic tūną, from Gaulish dunum, from Proto-Celtic dūnom, from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂-.

town (English): A settlement; an area with residential districts,...

Definitions

  1. A settlement; an area with residential districts,...

Ancestry of “town”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishFreetown—
2EnglishfreeUnconstrained; Obtainable without any payment;...
3Middle Englishfree—
4Old Englishfrēofree, joyful
5Proto-Germanic*frī—
6Proto-Germanicfrijazfree
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanpriHósdear, beloved; happy, free
8Proto-Indo-EuropeanpreyH-to love, to please

Words derived from “town”

  • downtown
  • Townsend
  • hometown
  • townspeople
  • Jamestown
  • Chinatown
  • townsfolk
  • Freetown
  • Newtown
  • townhouse
  • Youngstown
  • midtown
  • Elizabethtown
  • toon
  • Jonestown
  • Toon
  • shantytown
  • townsite
  • townland
  • Bardstown
  • smalltown
  • boomtown
  • Castletown
  • crosstown
Every word from Proto-Indo-European preyH- →