Towny

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A resident of a town, especially one who is perceived as unsophisticated or provincial compared to those from rural or urban areas
2. A person associated with a small community who is often viewed as lacking sophistication compared to those from cities or more urbanized places
3. An individual living in a town who may be characterized by a perceived simplicity or provincial outlook in contrast to metropolitan residents

Etymology: "Towny" is about as plain as English etymology gets: it is simply "town" with the suffix "-y" attached. In this case the suffix does the work of turning a place into a description of a person. The "-y" ending creates adjectives meaning "characterised by" or "associated with," so a "towny" is someone associated with a town, a small community rather than a city. The sting in the word comes from the contrast it draws. Nothing in the suffix itself is disparaging; the implied judgement lies in how the word is set against the city-dweller. Someone who grows up in a small town and is seen as lacking worldly polish gets labelled by the place they come from, which is why the word works as both an adjective and a noun in ordinary use.

Synonyms: urban, municipal, metropolitan

Antonyms: rural, countryside