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Added 9 October 2026

municipality

/mjʊˌnɪsɪˈpælɪti/ noun

In Latin: mūnicipium Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about municipality at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An urban district having corporate status and powers of self-government.
People living in a town or city having local self-government.

Origin

Borrowed from French municipalité (Edmund Burke), from municipal + -ité, from Latin municipalis, from municipium (“free city, township”), from municeps (“citizen of a free city or township”), from mūnus (“duty, service”) + -ceps (“taker, catcher”). Equivalent to municipal + -ity.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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