from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n.pl. The people of a town.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. The people who live in a town, especially the lower and middle classes.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. The people of a town; especially, the inhabitants of a city, in distinction from country people; townspeople.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. People of a town or city; people who live in towns.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. the people living in a municipality smaller than a city
Sorry, no etymologies found.
I was surprised neither to hear the story, nor to detect the note of pleasure in his voice when he implied that his townsfolk were the inheritors of these noble traditions.
He thought the concentration of the townsfolk was a sign of an unmanly dread of those first settlers whom they wished to drive away unjustly, subjugate and ruin.
What unsettled the minds of the townsfolk was the failure of the Rajah's boats to act at the decisive moment.
But now, alas! we no sooner saw the town than we heard the bells and trumpets calling the townsfolk and men-at-arms to be on their ward.
In fact, Margaret Sinclair's sudden stinginess and indifference to her townsfolk was the common wonder and talk of every little gathering.
At the appointed time and term the townsfolk gathered together to see the funeral procession and the obsequies for the departed; and the Sultan went in state to the Mausoleum together with all the Wazirs, the Emirs and Lords of the land, and took seat upon carpets of black satin purfled with flowers of gold which were dispread over the marble floor.
So every one of the townsfolk is a "shareholder" rather than a "resident".
By contrast, the townsfolk are a friendly bunch who enjoy scrapbooking, eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and working Jesus into most conversations.
True, these unusual demons are just, well, NPCs when you get right down to it, but they're some of the most interesting and well-realized "townsfolk" that you're ever likely to encounter.
Listen to the amazed and rattled townsfolk, the chief of police with his “inner selves,” and enjoy the light music of collapsing hierarchies.