Word.ws English Dictionary

townland

Syllables: town·land/ˈtaʊnlænd/US/ˈtaʊnˌlænd/

townland noun: a geographical unit of land smaller than a parish.

townland: a geographical unit of land smaller than a parish
Image: Patrick Mackie, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

townland (plural townlands)

  1. (Ireland) A geographical unit of land smaller than a parish.
    • Here is to be noted, that Sir Hugh got his estate by townlands, by reason of his agreement with Con O'Neil, whereas other undertakers of plantations in Ulster had several scopes of land (called proportions) admeasured to them, each containing one thousand acres, profitable for plough and good...1696–1706, William Montgomery, chapter IV, in George Hill, editor, The Montgomery Manuscripts: (1603–1706): Compiled from Family Papers by William Montgomery of Rosemount, Esquire; […], Belfast...
    • I am not aware that those tenants have since transgressed; but I received a letter from home, informing me that there were three fines struck upon a townland of mine, and that on the tenants of that townland being asked how that came about, the only account they gave was, that there were three...1816 May 31, Alexander Stewart (witness), “Appendix. Minutes of Evidence Taken before the Select Committee Appointed to Inquire into the Causes and Extent of Illicit Distillation of Spirits in...

townland meaning in Urdu

townland in Urdu

geographical unit of land smaller than a parish
ٹاؤن لینڈ

Examples of townland in a sentence

  • [T]hey walked round the lake, for the townland was at the back of the demesne; and while they walked, James proposed to pay Mike ten shillings a week for his board and lodging.1903, George Moore, “Home-Sickness”, in The Untilled Field, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, […], →OCLC, page 158:
  • Lixnaw is my parish and my hurling club; Ballinclogher is my townland and my home.2014, Paul Galvin, “North Kerry – Rebel Stronghold”, in In My Own Words: The Autobiography, London: Transworld Ireland, Transworld...

Forms of townland

pluraltownlands

Origin of townland

From town + land.

Questions about townland

What does townland mean?
Townland means a geographical unit of land smaller than a parish.
What is townland in Urdu?
Townland in Urdu is ٹاؤن لینڈ. See Townland meaning in Urdu.
How do you use townland in a sentence?
[T]hey walked round the lake, for the townland was at the back of the demesne; and while they walked, James proposed to pay Mike ten shillings a week for his board and lodging.
What part of speech is townland?
Townland is a noun.
How do you pronounce townland?
Townland is pronounced /ˈtaʊnlænd/ (UK).
What is the plural of townland?
The plural of townland is townlands.

Words near townland in the dictionary

  1. townifying
  2. towniness
  3. townish
  4. townishly
  5. townishness
  6. townland
  7. townlands
  8. townless
  9. townlessness
  10. townlet
  11. townlets

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: townland (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-townland.wav.

Cite this entry: “townland.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/townland. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.