View source for Hamlet (place)

{{short description|Small human settlement in a rural area}}
{{about|the type of settlement|other uses|Hamlet (disambiguation)}}

{{original research|date=January 2018}}

[[Image:Waldkirch Oberwil.jpg|thumb|300px|The hamlet Weiler Oberwil in [[Waldkirch, Switzerland|Waldkirch]], Switzerland]]

A '''hamlet''' is a [[human settlement]] that is smaller than a [[town]] or [[village]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a Hamlet? |url=http://www.culturalworld.org/what-is-a-hamlet.htm |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=Cultural World |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Difference Between Hamlet and Village |url=https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-hamlet-and-vs-village/ |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms |date=14 February 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref> This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement.{{cn|date=June 2025}} Sometimes, a hamlet is defined for official or [[Administrative division|administrative]] purposes.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

The word and concept of a hamlet can be traced back to [[Anglo-Normans|Norman England]], where the Old French {{lang|fro|hamelet}} came to apply to small human settlements.

== Etymology ==
The word comes from [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] ''{{lang|xno|hamelet}}'', corresponding to [[Old French]] ''{{lang|fro|hamelet}}'', the diminutive of Old French ''{{lang|fro|hamel}}'' meaning a little village. This, in turn, is a diminutive of Old French ''{{lang|fro|ham}}'', possibly borrowed from ([[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]) [[Franconian languages]]. It is related to the modern French ''{{lang|fr|hameau}}'', [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''{{lang|nl|heem}}'', [[Frisian languages|Frisian]] ''{{lang|fy|hiem}}'', German ''{{lang|de|Heim}}'', [[Old English]] ''{{lang|ang|hām}}'', and [[Modern English]] ''home''.<ref>T. F. Hoad, ''English Etymology'', Oxford University Press, 1993, {{ISBN|0-19-283098-8}}.</ref>

== By country ==
=== Afghanistan ===
In [[Afghanistan]], the word "hamlet" may be used to translate the term "[[Qila|qala]]" ([[Dari]]: قلعه, [[Pashto]]: کلي).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:1793.raverty|title=A dictionary of the Puk'hto, Pus'hto, or language of the Afghans|website=dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu|access-date=2018-05-04|archive-date=2021-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224044257/http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:1793.raverty|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Afghan ''qala'' is a fortified group of houses, generally with a community building such as a mosque but without a marketplace. The qala is the smallest type of settlement in Afghan society, outsized by the village ([[Dari]]/[[Pashto]]: ده), which is larger and includes a commercial area.

=== Canada ===
In Canada's three [[Provinces and territories of Canada|territories]], hamlets are officially designated [[Lists of municipalities in Canada|municipalities]].<ref name="StatCanMuniStatus">{{cite web |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/92f0009x/92f0009x2010000-eng.pdf |author=Statistics Canada |author-link=Statistics Canada |title=Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status, and Names (From January 2, 2009 to January 1, 2010) |year=2010 |access-date=2010-11-17}}</ref>

* [[Northwest Territories]] had [[List of communities in the Northwest Territories|11 hamlets]],<ref name="StatCanMuniStatus" /> each of which had a population of fewer than 900 people as of the [[2016 Canada Census|2016 census]];<ref name="2016censusNTmunis">{{cite web | url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=86&O=A&RPP=9999&PR=62| title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Northwest Territories) | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=February 8, 2017 | access-date=April 19, 2018}}</ref>
* [[Nunavut]] had [[List of communities in Nunavut|24 hamlets]],<ref name="StatCanMuniStatus" /> with populations ranging from 129 to 2,842 as of the 2016 census;<ref name="2016censusNUmunis">{{cite web | url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=86&O=A&RPP=9999&PR=62| title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Nunavut) | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=February 8, 2017 | access-date=April 19, 2018}}</ref> and
* [[Yukon]] had [[List of communities in Yukon|two hamlets]],<ref name="StatCanMuniStatus" /> both of which had a population of less than 450 people as of the 2016 census.<ref name="StatCanMunisYK">{{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=302&PR=60&S=86&O=A&RPP=25 |author=Statistics Canada |author-link=Statistics Canada |title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses&nbsp;– 100% data (Yukon Territory) |date=2018-02-08 |access-date=2018-04-18}}</ref>

In Canada's provinces, hamlets are usually small [[unincorporated area|unincorporated]] communities within a larger municipality (similar to [[Township (United States)#Civil townships|civil townships]] in the United States), such as many communities within the [[single-tier municipality|single-tier municipalities]] of [[Ontario]],{{citation needed|date=November 2010}} [[Alberta]]'s [[specialized municipalities of Alberta|specialized]] and [[List of communities in Alberta#Rural municipalities|rural]] municipalities,<ref name="MuniLocationsAB">{{cite web |url=http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/msb/2010-ruralmun.pdf |author=Alberta Municipal Affairs |author-link=Alberta Municipal Affairs |title=Specialized and Rural Municipalities and Their Communities |date=2010-04-01 |access-date=2010-11-17 |archive-date=2010-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117075917/http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/msb/2010-ruralmun.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Saskatchewan]]'s rural municipalities.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/municipal-administration/community-planning-land-use-and-development/municipal-status-and-boundary-changes/establishing-an-organized-hamlets | title=Hamlets and Organized Hamlets | publisher=[[Government of Saskatchewan]] | accessdate=August 18, 2024}}</ref>

Canada's two largest hamlets—[[Fort McMurray]] (formerly incorporated as a city)<ref name="WoodBuffaloAMAProfile">{{cite web |url=http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/cfml/MunicipalProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=BasicReport&MunicipalityType=SMUN&stakeholder=508&profileType=HIST&profileType=CONT&profileType=STAT&profileType=FINA&profileType=GRAN&profileType=TAXR&profileType=ASSE |author=Alberta Municipal Affairs |author-link=Alberta Municipal Affairs |title=Municipal Profile&nbsp;– Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo |date=2010-11-15 |access-date=2010-11-17}}</ref> and [[Sherwood Park]]—are located in Alberta. They each have populations, within their main urban area, over 60,000—well over the 10,000-person threshold that can choose to [[List of cities in Alberta|incorporate as a city]] in Alberta.<ref name="2009OPL">{{cite web |url=http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/LGS/2009pop.pdf |author=Alberta Municipal Affairs |author-link=Alberta Municipal Affairs |title=2009 Official Population List |date=2009-09-15 |access-date=2010-11-17}}</ref><ref name="MGA">{{cite web |url=http://www.qp.alberta.ca/574.cfm?page=M26.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779744916 |author=Alberta Queen's Printer |title=2009 Official Population List |date=2009-09-15 |access-date=2010-11-17}}</ref> As such, these two hamlets have been further designated by the Province of Alberta as [[List of communities in Alberta#Urban service areas|urban service areas]].<ref name=MuniCodes>{{cite web | url=https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/7b81986c-b05a-4b72-8f12-aec3a22970ae/resource/6c56c4f5-0a7e-49fa-918e-502e51c955ad/download/2020-lgcode.pdf | title=2020 Municipal Codes | publisher=[[Alberta Municipal Affairs]] | date=December 18, 2020 | accessdate=September 30, 2021}}</ref> An urban service area is recognized as equivalent to a city for provincial and federal program delivery and grant eligibility.<ref name="RMWB_OC">{{cite web |url=http://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/cfml/pdf_search/pdf/SMUN/0508/Regional_Municipality_of_Wood_Buffalo_OC_817_94_1995_No7.pdf |author=Province of Alberta |title=Order in Council 817/94 (R.M. of Wood Buffalo status change to specialized municipality) |date=1994-12-21 |access-date=2010-11-17}}</ref><ref name="SC_OC">{{cite web |url=http://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/cfml/pdf_search/pdf/SMUN/0302/Strathcona_County_OC_761_95_1996_No9.pdf |author=Province of Alberta |title=Order in Council 761/95 (Strathcona County status change to specialized municipality) |date=1995-12-06 |access-date=2010-11-17}}</ref>

=== France ===
[[File:Château de Chantilly - Le hameau - PA00114578 - 005.jpg|thumb|A cottage in the [[Hameau de Chantilly]]]]
A hamlet ({{langx|fr|hameau}}) is a group of rural dwellings, usually too small to be considered a village. The term {{lang|fr|[[Lieu-dit]]}} is also applied to hamlets but it can also refer to uninhabited localities.

During the 18th century, it was fashionable for rich or noble people to create [[Hameau (garden feature)|their ''hameau'' in their gardens]]. This was a group of houses or farms with a rustic appearance but very comfortable. The best known are the [[Hameau de la Reine]], built by Queen [[Marie-Antoinette]] in the park of the [[Palace of Versailles]], and the [[Hameau de Chantilly]], built by [[Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé]] in [[Chantilly, Oise]].

=== Germany ===
{{expand German|section=y|date=October 2024|topic=geo}}
The word "hamlet" may be used to translate the term ''{{lang|de|Weiler}}'' ({{IPA|de|ˈva͡ɪlɐ|lang}}).{{cn|date=June 2025}}  Compared to a ''Dorf'' (village), a ''{{ill|Weiler (settlement type)|lt=Weiler|de|Weiler}}'' has no infrastructure (i.e. no inn, no school, no store, no church). The houses and farms of a ''Weiler'' can be grouped (in the hills and the mountains) or scattered (more often 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.

There is no legal definition of a Weiler in Germany. In Bavaria, like in Austria, a Weiler is defined as a settlement with 3 to 9 dwellings, from 10 houses it is called a village.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

=== Italy ===
In [[Italy]], the term ‘frazione’ refers to a portion of inhabited territory within a municipality (the lowest level of subdivision, the "[[Comune]]"), generally located some distance from the centre of the town or village but still within the municipality's territory. In practice, if a village or town can be divided into neighbourhoods, i.e. portions of the same inhabited centre, the hamlets are located at a certain distance, creating a detached urban group. In many cases, some hamlets may have once been municipalities. Hamlets are always indicated by a sign, but they have no administrative function (at most, they may be polling stations). Small groups of houses that do not form a town and are further detached are called "località" (localites). We mention two examples in the [[Liguria|Liguria Region]]: the coastal municipality of [[Camogli]] consists of the town centre and the hamlets of Ruta (a former Napoleonic municipality) and San Rocco. In turn, there are localities such as Boschetto, Case Rosse, Mortola, Porto Pidocchio and San Fruttuoso di Capodimonte, which are well separated but fall within the three main localities for all aspects of daily life. The municipality of [[Lumarzo]], on the other hand, is known as a “scattered municipality” because it is made up of numerous separate centres without a main one, such as Lagomarsino, Pannesi, Boasi and Tasso, with numerous localities. For example, there are Tassorello, Tasso Alto, Sotto Tasso...

=== India ===
In different states of [[India]], there are different words for hamlet. In [[Haryana]] and [[Rajasthan]], it is called ''"[[Dhani (settlement type)|dhani]]"'' ({{langx|hi|ढाणी}} ''{{Transliteration|hi|ḍhāṇī}}'') or ''"Thok"''.<ref>Sukhvir Singh Gahlot: ''Rural Life in Rajasthan'', page 4.Rajasthani Granthagar, Giani Press Delhi 1986</ref><ref name="dhan10">Ashutosh Goyal, 2015, [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=9380844786 "RBS Visitors Guide India - Rajasthan: Rajasthan Travel guide".], Data & Expo India Pvt Ltd, {{ISBN|9380844786}}.</ref><ref name="dhan1">Rann Singh Mann, K. Mann, 1989, [https://books.google.com/books?id=q29TcbHrMfUC "Tribal Cultures and Change".], pp. 23.</ref><ref name="dhan12">S. H. M. Rizvi, 1987 [https://books.google.com/books?id=jF9uAAAAMAAJ "Mina, the ruling tribe of Rajasthan: socio-biological appraisal".], pp. 34.</ref> In [[Gujarat]], a hamlet is called a ''"nesada"'', which are more prevalent in the [[Gir Forest National Park|Gir forest]]. In [[Maharashtra]], it is called a ''"pada"''. In southern Bihar, especially in the [[Magadh division]], a hamlet is called a ''"bigha"''. In the state of [[Karnataka]], a hamlet is known by different names like '''Palya''', '''Hadi''' (Haadi), '''Keri''', and '''Padi''' (Paadi). In the olden days, the human population of hamlet was less than '''Halli''' (Village) or '''Ooru''' (Uru). But in the 20th century with the tremendous increase in population, some of these hamlets became villages, towns and cities or merged with them.

=== Indonesia ===
[[File:DSC00029 Java Little Sundanais Traditional Village Kampung Naga (6219569245).jpg|thumb|The hamlet [[Kampung Naga]] in [[West Java]] Province, Indonesia]]
All over [[Indonesia]], hamlets are translated as "small village", {{Lang|id|desa}} or ''{{lang|id|kampung}}''. They are known as ''{{lang|id|dusun}}'' in Central Java and East Java, ''{{lang|id|banjar}}'' in Bali, ''{{lang|id|jorong}}'' or ''{{lang|id|kampuang}}'' in [[West Sumatra]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

=== Netherlands ===
The Dutch words for hamlet are ''{{lang|nl|gehucht}}'' or ''{{lang|nl|buurtschap}}''. 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]]), while a ''buurtschap'' officially is a part of another place (e.g. [[Bartlehiem]], part of [[Wyns]]).

=== Pakistan ===
In Pakistan, a hamlet is called a ''gaaon'' گاؤں or [[Mouza|mauza]] موضع in [[Urdu]], ''giraaan'' گراں or ''pind'' پنڈ in [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], and ''kalay'' کلې in [[Pashto]]. It is almost synonymous with 'village'.

=== Poland ===
In Poland, the law recognises several different kinds of [[rural settlement|rural settlements]]. ''[[Przysiółek]]'' (which can be translated as "hamlet") refers to a cluster of farms. ''Osada'' (which is typically translated as "settlement" but also can be translated as "hamlet") includes smaller settlements especially differing by type of buildings or inhabited by population connected with some place or workplace (like mill settlements, forest settlements, fishing settlements, railway settlements, former [[State Agricultural Farm]] settlements). They can be an independent settlement, or a part of another settlement, like a village.<ref name=poland>{{Cite web |url=http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20031661612 |title=''Ustawa z dnia 29 sierpnia 2003 r. o urzędowych nazwach miejscowości i obiektów fizjograficznych'' (Dz.U. 2003 nr 166 poz. 1612 |access-date=2018-04-10 |archive-date=2020-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603053105/http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20031661612 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Romania ===
{{expand Italian|section=y|date=October 2024|topic=geo}}
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Romania}}
In [[Romania]], hamlets are called ''{{lang|ro|cătune}}'' (singular: ''{{lang|ro|[[:ro:cătun|cătun]]}}''), 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 [[communes of Romania|commune]].

=== Spain ===
In [[Spain]], a hamlet is called ''lugar'', ''aldea'' or ''{{lang|es|cortijada}}'' ({{IPA|es|koɾtiˈxaða|lang}}). The word comes from the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] term ''{{lang|es|cortijo}}'' («estate»). In the South of Spain, the term ''{{lang|es|caserío}}'' ({{IPA|es|kaseˈɾi.o|lang}}) 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]] (called in Spain, ''{{lang|es|pueblo}}'' {{IPA|es|ˈpweβlo|lang}}). The hamlet is a common territorial organisation in the North West of Spain ([[Asturias]], [[Cantabria]] and [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]]) dependent on a larger entity (e.g. [[parish]] or [[municipality]]).

In Spain, the hamlet is one of the categories in the official [[gazetteer]] of population entities. In the Royal Order and Instruction of the 8 of March 1930,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://classic.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/2022704/lod_oai_ciconia_gobex_es_9042_ent1.html|title=Real orden e instrucción de 8 de marzo de 1930 para llevar a efecto la estadística de edificios y albergues de España y sus posesiones|location=Spain|date=8 March 1930|author=España. Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión. Jefatura del Servicio General de Estadística|publisher=Europeana Collections. An initiative of the European Union|access-date=7 November 2020|website=classic.europeana.eu|page=8,9|language=es}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> issued for the elaboration of the Annual gazetteer, the hamlet (''{{lang|es|aldea}}'') is defined as the population entity with the smallest population and neighbourhood, usually more disseminated than the [[lugar (country subdivision)|lugar]], though its buildings can be also organised in streets and plazas.

=== Switzerland ===
In the four national languages, hamlets are known as ''{{lang|de|Weiler}}'' (German), ''{{lang|fr|hameaux}}'' (French), ''{{lang|it|frazioni}}'' (Italian) and ''{{lang|rm|fracziun}}'' ([[Romansh language|Romansh]]). A hamlet is always part of a larger [[municipalities of Switzerland|municipality]] 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 (''{{lang|de|Kirchwiler}}'') may have grown up as an unplanned settlement around a church.<ref>{{Cite report |author=Projektteam SINUS |title=Landschaftsökologische Strukturmerkmale als Indikatoren der Nachhaltigkeit, Spatial INdices for LandUSe Sustainability (SINUS) |url=http://131.130.59.133/projekte/sinus/pdf/kap10.pdf |publisher=University of Vienna |pages=308–317 |access-date=16 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214213908/http://131.130.59.133/projekte/sinus/pdf/kap10.pdf |archive-date=14 December 2013 }}</ref> No population limit 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 ''{{lang|de|[[Bürgergemeinde]]}}'' (legal place of citizenship regardless of where a person was born or currently lives) and may own common property for the ''{{lang|de|Bürgergemeinde}}''.

=== United Kingdom ===
====England====
[[File:Haynes Church End - geograph.org.uk - 837382.jpg|thumb|[[Haynes Church End]] in Bedfordshire]]
In [[England]], the word ''hamlet'' (having the French origin given at the top of this article) means (in current usage) simply a small settlement, maybe of a few houses or farms, smaller than a village. However, traditionally and legally, it means a village or a town without a church,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mozley & Whiteley's law dictionary|last=Hardy-Ivamy|first=E.R.|publisher=Butterworths|year=1993|isbn=978-0-406-01420-7|location=London|pages=124}}</ref> although hamlets are recognised as part of [[land use planning]] policies and administration. Historically, it may refer to a secondary settlement in a [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]], after the main settlement (if any); such an example is the hamlet of [[Chipping, Hertfordshire|Chipping]] which is the secondary settlement within the civil parish of [[Buckland, Hertfordshire|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 [[deserted medieval village|depopulation of a village]]; examples of such a hamlet are [[Dowsby#Graby|Graby]] and [[Shapwick, Somerset|Shapwick]].  Because of the hilly [[topography]] of the parish, the village of [[Clent]], situated on the [[Clent Hills]], consists of five distinct hamlets.

====Northern Ireland====
In [[Northern Ireland]], the common Irish place name element ''{{lang|ga|baile}}'' is sometimes considered equivalent to the term ''hamlet'' in English, ''{{lang|ga|baile}}'' would actually have referred to what is known in English today as a ''[[townland]]'': that is to say, a geographical locality rather than a small village.

====Scotland====
In the [[Scottish Highlands]], the term ''{{lang|gd|[[clachan]]}}'', of Gaelic derivation, may be preferred to the term ''hamlet''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?plen=2540&startset=6123628&query=CLACHAN&fhit=clachan&dregion=form&dtext=snd#fhit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404033415/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?plen=2540&startset=6123628&query=CLACHAN&fhit=clachan&dregion=form&dtext=snd |archive-date=4 April 2012 |title=Clachan |publisher=Dictionary of the Scots Language |access-date=2011-10-24}}</ref> Also found in [[Scotland]] more generally is ''{{lang|sco|ferm toun}}'', used in the specific case of a farm settlement, including outbuildings and agricultural workers' homes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/ferm_n1_v|title=Dictionary of the Scots Language:: SND :: ferm n1 v}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/toun|title=Dictionary of the Scots Language:: SND :: toun}}</ref>

====Wales====
The term hamlet was used in [[Wales]] 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".<ref>Kain R J P, Oliver R D, ''Historic Parishes of England & Wales'', HDS, 2001, {{ISBN|0-9540032-0-9}}, p 12</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/types/status_page.jsp?unit_status=Hmlt |title=Status definition: Hamlet |work=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=Great Britain Historical GIS Project |access-date=2007-08-31}}</ref> The [[Welsh language|Welsh]] word for "hamlet" is {{lang|cy|pentrefan}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://glosbe.com/cy/en/pentrefan|title = Pentrefan in English - Welsh-English Dictionary &#124; Glosbe}}</ref> (also {{lang|cy|pentrefyn}}). Both these words are diminutives of ''pentref'' ("village") with the loose meaning of "small village".

=== United States ===
==== Mississippi ====
In [[Mississippi]], 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, Mississippi|Bogue Chitto, Lincoln County]].

==== New York ====
{{Further|Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Hamlet}}

In New York, hamlets are [[Unincorporated area#United States|unincorporated settlements]] within [[Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Town|towns]]. 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 provides 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 [[census-designated place|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 limits in the United States|speed zones]] on the roads serving them). Others, such as [[Forestville, New York]], 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, New York|Levittown]] in the [[Town of Hempstead, New York|Town of Hempstead]], with a population of over 50,000, are more populous than some incorporated cities in the state.

==== Oregon ====
{{main|Hamlet (Oregon)}}
In [[Oregon]], specifically in [[Clackamas County, Oregon|Clackamas County]], a hamlet is a form of local government for small communities that allows the citizens therein to organize and coordinate community activities. Hamlets do not provide services, such as utilities or fire protection, and do not have the authority to levy [[taxes]] or fees. There are four hamlets in Oregon: [[Beavercreek, Oregon|Beavercreek]], [[Mulino, Oregon|Mulino]], [[Molalla Prairie, Oregon|Molalla Prairie]], and [[Stafford, Oregon|Stafford]].

== See also ==
* [[Developed environments]]
* [[Dhani and villages]]
* {{lang|it|[[Frazione]]}}
* [[Manorialism]]
* [[Types of inhabited localities in Russia]]
* [[Akpanta, Nigeria|Akpanta Settlement]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|hamlet}}
{{Commons category|Hamlets}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060627091742/http://www.bigfarm.co.uk/wolfhampcote.htm Wolfhampcote: A hamlet formed by depopulation]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060320053106/http://www.addingham.info/village/lowmill.htm Low Mill: A mill hamlet]

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[[Category:Hamlets|*]]
[[Category:Types of populated places]]