townsfolk
part of speech
noun (townsfolk — plural)
meaning for a pupil
Townsfolk are the people who live in a particular town, or town people in general as opposed to country people. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories, fairy tales and history, "the townsfolk" are the ordinary people of a town who gather, gossip, celebrate or are afraid, as in "The Pied Piper of Hamelin". It sounds a little old-fashioned and storybook-like; in news, "townspeople" or "residents" are more common. Phrases: "the local townsfolk", "the townsfolk gathered".
examples
- The townsfolk gathered in the square to hear the news. tree →
- The Pied Piper led the rats away, but the townsfolk did not pay him. tree →
- The townsfolk cheered when the knight returned. tree →
- All the townsfolk came to the summer fair. tree →
- The townsfolk were afraid of the dragon on the hill. tree →
- The mayor asked the townsfolk to help clean the river. tree →
- In the past, townsfolk and country folk lived very different lives. tree →
- And as he paced along, slowly and gravely, the townsfolk flocked to door and window, and many a blessing they called down upon his head. tree →
note
Plural noun with a plural verb: "The townsfolk were happy." There is no "a townsfolk"; for one person say "a townsperson" or "someone from the town". Also "townspeople". "Folk" means people.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «townsfolk» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.