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A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
or
village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
. Its size relative to a
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. The word and concept of a hamlet has roots in the Anglo-Norman settlement of England, where the old French ' came to apply to small human settlements.


Etymology

The word comes from
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...
', corresponding to
Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
', the diminutive of Old French ' meaning a little village. This, in turn, is a diminutive of Old French ', possibly borrowed from (
West Germanic The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages). The West Germanic branch is classically subdivided into t ...
)
Franconian languages Franconian or Frankish is a collective term traditionally used by linguists to refer to many West Germanic languages, some of which are spoken in what formed the historical core area of Francia during the Early Middle Ages. Linguistically, there ...
. Compare with modern French ',
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
', Frisian ', German ',
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
' and Modern English ''home''.


By country


Afghanistan

In
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, the counterpart of the hamlet is the qala (
Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī  ...
: قلعه,
Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
: کلي) meaning "fort" or "hamlet". The Afghan ''qala'' is a fortified group of houses, generally with its own community building such as a mosque, but without its own marketplace. The qala is the smallest type of settlement in Afghan society, outsized by the village (
Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī  ...
/
Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
: ده), which is larger and includes a commercial area.


Canada

In Canada's three
territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...
, hamlets are officially designated
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
. As of January 1, 2010: *
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
had 11 hamlets, each of which had a population of less than 900 people as of the 2016 census; *
Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...
had 24 hamlets, with populations ranging from 129 to 2,842 as of the 2016 census; and *
Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
had two hamlets, both of which had a population of less than 450 people as of the 2016 census. In Canada's provinces, hamlets are usually small
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
communities within a larger municipality (similar to
civil townships A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to refe ...
in the United States), such as many communities within the single-tier municipalities of
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
or within
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
's specialized and
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
municipalities. Canada's two largest hamlets—
Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significant ...
(formerly incorporated as a city) and
Sherwood Park Sherwood Park is a large hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Strathcona County that is recognized as an urban service area. It is located adjacent to the City of Edmonton's eastern boundary, generally south of Highway 16 (Yellowhead Trail), ...
—are located in Alberta. They each have populations, within their main urban area, in excess of 60,000—well in excess of the 10,000-person threshold that can choose to incorporate as a city in Alberta. The designation of these urban areas as a "hamlet" is simply to enable their residents to participate in the politics of their surrounding counties. As such, these two hamlets have been further designated by the Province of Alberta as urban service areas. An urban service area is recognized as equivalent to a city for the purposes of provincial and federal program delivery and grant eligibility.


France

A hamlet, french: hameau, is a group of rural dwellings, usually too small to be considered a village. The term is also applied to hamlets, but this can also refer to non-inhabited localities. During the
18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trad ...
, for rich or
noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...
people, it was fashionable to create their own ' in their gardens. These were a group of houses or farms with rustic appearance, but in fact were very comfortable. The best known is the ''
Hameau de la Reine The Hameau de la Reine (, ''The Queen's Hamlet'') is a rustic retreat in the park of the Château de Versailles built for Marie Antoinette in 1783 near the Petit Trianon in Yvelines, France. It served as a private meeting place for the Queen and h ...
'' built by the queen
Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child and ...
in the park of the '; also the ''
Hameau de Chantilly The Hameau de Chantilly ('hamlet of Chantilly') is a folly in the park of the Château de Chantilly built in 1774 and consisting of seven rustic thatched cottages with luxurious interiors set in a garden. Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé had his ar ...
'' built by
Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé Louis Joseph de Bourbon (9 August 1736 – 13 May 1818) was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of '' Prince du Sang''. Youth Born on 9 August 1736 at Chantilly, Louis Jos ...
in .


Germany

The German word for hamlet is ' (). A ''Weiler'' has, compared to a ''Dorf'' (village), no infrastructure (i.e. no inn, no school, no store). There are hamlets with churches, these are called "Kirchweiler" (church hamlet). The houses and farms of a ''Weiler'' can be grouped (in the hills and the mountains) or scattered (in the plains). In North West Germany, a group of scattered farms is called ''Bauerschaft''. In a Weiler there are no street names, the houses are just numbered.


India

In different states of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, there are different words for hamlet. In
Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
and
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
it is called ''" dhani"'' ( hi, ढाणी ') or ''"Thok"''.Ashutosh Goyal, 2015
"RBS Visitors Guide India - Rajasthan: Rajasthan Travel guide".
Data & Expo India Pvt Ltd, .
Rann Singh Mann, K. Mann, 1989
"Tribal Cultures and Change".
pp. 23.
S. H. M. Rizvi, 198
"Mina, the ruling tribe of Rajasthan: socio-biological appraisal".
pp. 34.
In
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
a hamlet is called a ''"nesada"'', which are more prevalent in the
Gir forest Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest, national park, and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India. It is located north-east of Somnath, south-east of Junagadh and south-west of Amreli. ...
. In
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
it's called a ''"pada"''. In southern Bihar, especially in the
Magadh division Magadh division is an administrative geographical unit of Bihar state of India. Gaya is the administrative headquarters of the division. Currently (2005), the division consists Gaya district, Nawada district, Aurangabad district, Jehanabad dist ...
, a hamlet is called a ''"bigha"''. In state of
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, Hamlet (place of human settlement) is known by different names like Palya, Hadi(Haadi),Keri and Padi(Paadi). In olden days the human population of hamlet was less than Halli(Village) or Ooru(Uru). But in 20th century with tremendous increase in population, some of these hamlets have become villages, towns, cities or merged with them.


Indonesia

All over
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, hamlets are translated as "small village", or '. They are known as ' in Central Java and East Java, ' in Bali, ' or ' in
West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5, ...
.


Netherlands

The Dutch words for hamlet are ' or '. A ''gehucht'' or ''buurtschap'' has, compared to a ''dorp'' (village), no infrastructure (i.e. no inn, no school, no store) and contains often only one street, bearing the same name. The houses and farms of a ''gehucht'' or a ''buurtschap'' can be scattered. Though there are strong similarities between a ''gehucht'' and ''buurtschap'', the words are not interchangeable. A ''gehucht'' officially counts as an independent place of residence (e.g.
Wateren Wateren is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Westerveld, and lies about 22 km west of the provincial capital Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is ...
), while a ''buurtschap'' officially is a part of an other place (e.g.
Bartlehiem Bartlehiem is a hamlet, located partially in Noardeast-Fryslân, partially in Tytsjerksteradiel, and partially in Leeuwarden. It consists of about 40 houses. History In 1840, Bartlehiem was home to 40 people. Before 2018, the village was part of t ...
, part of
Wyns Nemiscau Airport is located southeast of Nemaska, Quebec, Canada, along Route du Nord at km 294. It was built and is operated by Hydro-Québec to serve their large electrical substations of Nemiscau and Albanel. Air Creebec Air Creebec In ...
).


Pakistan

In Pakistan a hamlet is called a ''gaaon'' گاؤں or
mauza In Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of India a mouza or mauza (also mouja) is a type of administrative district, corresponding to a specific land area within which there may be one or more settlements. Before the 20th century, the term referred to a ...
موضع in
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
Punjabi, and ''kalay'' کلې in
Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
. It is almost synonymous to 'village'.


Poland

In Poland a hamlet is called ''osada'', and is legally a small
rural settlement The definition of a rural settlement depends on the country, in some countries, a rural settlement is any settlement in the areas defined as rural by a governmental office, e.g., by the national census bureau. This may include even rural towns. ...
, especially differing by type of buildings or inhabited by population connected with some place or workplace (like mill hamlet, forest hamlet, fishermen hamlet, railway hamlet,
State Agricultural Farm __NOTOC__ A State Agricultural Farm ( pl, Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne, PGR) was a form of collective farming in the People's Republic of Poland, similar to Soviet sovkhoz and to the East German Volkseigenes Gut. They were created in 1949 as a ...
hamlet). It can be an independent settlement, or a part of another settlement, like a village.


Romania

In
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
hamlets are called ' (singular: '), and they represent villages that contain several houses at most. They are legally considered villages, and statistically, they are placed in the same category. Like villages, they do not have a separate administration, and thus are not an administrative division, but are part of a parent
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
.


Russia

In the Russian language there are several words which mean "a hamlet", but all of them are approximately equal. The most common word is деревня (''derevnia'', the word meant "an arable" in the past); the words село (''selo'', from the Russian word селиться (''selit'tsa''), meaning "to settle") and посёлок (''posiolok'') are quite frequently used, too. Parallel to many other cultures, a distinction was often that ''selo'' has a church and ''derevnia'' has not. The once common Russian word хутор (''khutor'') for the smallest type of rural settlement (arguably closest in nature to the English hamlet) is now mostly obsolete. The state of USSR wanted to have some form of basic infrastructure and central authority at each and every settlement. Obviously, this is the opposite of hamlet - a place without neither for being too small to meaningfully support those. Even without state pressure, once one of the neighboring ''khutor''s got a permanent shop, school, community center (known in Russia as дом культуры, "house of culture"), maybe a medical post, others would naturally relocate closer, drawing together into one village. Thus, the dimunitie form деревенька (''derevenka'', tiny ''derevnia'') is in widespread, albeit unofficial, use to denote such settlements, which mostly possess the amenities of a village yet the size of hamlet.


Spain

In
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
a hamlet is called ' (). The word comes from the
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
term ' () («low grounds, pasture or estate»). In the South of Spain, the term ' () is also used for designating small groups of rural dwellings or farmhouses. A hamlet in Spain is a human settlement, usually located in rural areas, and typically smaller in size and population than a
village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
(called in Spain, ' ). The hamlet is a common territorial organisation in the North West of Spain (
Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
,
Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
and Galicia) dependent on a larger entity (e.g.
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
or
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
). In Spain, the hamlet is one of the categories in the official
gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical index or directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a country, region, or co ...
of population entities. In the Royal Order and Instruction of the 8 of March 1930, issued for the elaboration of the Annual gazetteer, the hamlet (') is defined as the population entity with the smallest population and neighbourhood, usually more disseminated than the lugar, though its buildings can be also organised in streets and plazas.


Switzerland

In the four national languages hamlets are known as ' (German), ' (French), ' (Italian) and ' ( Romansh). A hamlet is always part of a larger
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
or may be shared between two municipalities. The difference between a hamlet and a village is that typically a hamlet lacks a compact core settlement and lacks a central building such as a church or inn. However, some hamlets (') may have grown up as an unplanned settlement around a church. There is no population limit that defines a hamlet and some hamlets have a larger population than some of the smallest municipalities. Generally there are no street names in a hamlet; rather, addresses are given by hamlet name and a number. House numbers might start at one side of the hamlet and continue to the other side or may have no clear organization. A hamlet may form or have formed a ' (legal place of citizenship regardless of where a person was born or currently lives) and may own common property for the '.


Turkey

In
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, a hamlet is known as a ' and denotes a small satellite settlement usually consisting of a few houses in the rural outskirts of a village.


Ukraine

In Ukraine, a very small village such as a hamlet usually is called a '. There also existed such places like ''
volia ''Volia'' is an extinct monospecific genus of mekosuchine crocodylians from Fiji named in 2002.; ; 2002: An extinct Pleistocene endemic mekosuchine crocodylian from Fiji. ''Journal of vertebrate paleontology'', 22: 612–628. It was around lo ...
'', ''
sloboda A sloboda ( rus, слобода́, p=sləbɐˈda) was a kind of settlement in the history of the Old Russian regions Povolzhye, Central Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for "freedom" and may be loosely ...
'', ''
huta Huta (meaning "foundry" or "glass production shop" in Slavic languages) may refer to: Settlements Belarus Brest Oblast * Huta, Baranavichy District * Huta, Brest District * Huta, Hantsavichy District * Huta, Drahichyn District * Huta, Lyakhav ...
'', ''
buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
'' and others.


United Kingdom

England
In
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, the word ''hamlet'' (having the French origin given at the top of this article), means a village or a town without a church, although hamlets are recognised as part of
land use planning Land use planning is the process of regulating the use of land by a central authority. Usually, this is done to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient use of resources. More specifically, the goals ...
policies and administration. In modern usage it generally refers to a secondary settlement in a
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
, after the main settlement (if any); such an example is the hamlet of Chipping being the secondary settlement within the civil parish of Buckland. Hamlets may have been formed around a single source of economic activity such as a farm, mill, mine or harbour that employed its working population. Some hamlets may be the result of the depopulation of a village; an example of such a hamlet is Graby or Shapwick. Because of the hilly
topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
of the parish, the village of
Clent Clent is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove (district), Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England, southwest of Birmingham and close to the edge of the West Midlands conurbation. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,600. Pa ...
, situated on the
Clent Hills The Clent Hills lie south-west of Birmingham city centre in Clent, Worcestershire, England. The closest towns are Stourbridge and Halesowen, both in the West Midlands conurbation (and also Historic counties of England, historically in Worceste ...
, consists of five distinct hamlets. Wales
The term hamlet was used in
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
to denote a geographical subdivision of a parish (which might or might not contain a settlement). Elsewhere, mostly in England, these subdivisions were called "townships" or "tithings". The
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
word for 'hamlet' is (also ), with the loose meaning of 'small village'. Scotland
In the
Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
the term ', of Gaelic derivation, may be preferred to the term ''hamlet''. Also found in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
more generally is ' used in the specific case of a farm settlement, including outbuildings and agricultural workers' homes. Northern Ireland
In
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
the common Irish place name element ' is sometimes considered equivalent to the term ''hamlet'' in English, although ' would actually have referred to what is known in English today as a ''
townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...
'': that is to say, a geographical locality rather than a small village.


United States


Mississippi

In
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, a 2009 state law (§ 17-27-5) set aside the term "municipal historical hamlet" to designate any former city, town, or village with a current population of less than 600 inhabitants that lost its charter before 1945. The first such designation was applied to Bogue Chitto, Lincoln County.


New York

In New York, hamlets are unincorporated settlements within
towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
. Hamlets are not legal entities and have no local government or official boundaries. Their approximate locations will often be noted on road signs, however, a specific service, such as water, sewer, or lighting to provide only that hamlet with services. A hamlet could be described as the rural or suburban equivalent of a neighborhood in a city or village. The area of a hamlet may not be exactly defined; it may be designated by the Census Bureau, or it may rely on some other form of border (such as a ZIP Code, school district or fire district for more urbanized areas; rural hamlets are typically only demarcated by speed zones on the roads serving them). Others, such as
Forestville, New York Forestville is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 697 at the 2010 census. The hamlet is within the town of Hanover and in the northeast part of the county. It was an incorporate ...
, will be the remnants of former villages, with borders coextant with the previously defined borders of the defunct or dissolved village. Some hamlets proximate to urban areas are sometimes continuous with their cities and appear to be neighborhoods, but they still are under the jurisdiction of the town. Some localities designated as hamlets, such as
Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and their ...
in the
Town of Hempstead The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on t ...
, with a population of over 50,000, are more populous than some incorporated cities in the state.


Oregon

In
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, specifically in
Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...
, a hamlet is a form of local government for small communities that allows the citizens therein to organize and co-ordinate community activities. Hamlets do not provide services such as utilities or fire protection, and do not have the authority to levy
taxes A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or ...
or fees. There are four hamlets in Oregon: Beavercreek, Mulino, Molalla Prairie, and
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...
.


Vietnam

In
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, a hamlet (', ') is the smallest unofficial administrative unit. It is a subdivision of a
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
or township (').


See also

*
Developed environments In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in which people live. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities ...
*
Dhani and villages Dhani ( hi, ढाणी ') or Thok is a type of hamlet, the smallest conglomeration of houses, in sandy Bagar region of northwestern states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab in India. Per Census of India, 70% of Indians live in villages. 80% o ...
*
Frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...
*
Manorialism Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...
*
Types of inhabited localities in Russia The classification system of inhabited localities in Russia and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared with those in other countries. Classes During the Soviet time, each of the republics of the Soviet Union, including ...


References


External links


Wolfhampcote: A hamlet formed by depopulation


{{Authority control * Types of populated places