Hamlet (UK place)

A hamlet is a small human settlement. In different jurisdictions and geographies, hamlets may be the size of a town, village or parish, be considered a smaller settlement or subdivision of a larger, or be treated as a satellite entity to a larger settlement. The word and concept of a hamlet have roots in the Anglo-Norman settlement of England, where the old French hemelet came to apply to small human settlements. In British geography, a hamlet is considered smaller than a village and distinctly without a church.

The word comes from Anglo-Norman hamelet(t)e, corresponding to Old French hamelet, the diminutive of Old French hamel. This, in turn, is a diminutive of Old French ham, possibly borrowed from Franconian languages. Compare with modern French hameau, Dutch heem, German Heim, Old English hām and Modern English home.

In Australia a hamlet is a small village. Officially, a hamlet differs from a village in having no commercial premises, but has residences and may have community buildings such as churches and public halls.

In Bangladesh, Hamlet is known as "Para" or "Paara" (পাড়া). A village is divided by more than one "Para". That is the smallest partition of a place in Bangladesh. Each para contains some families, or a group of families.

In Canada's three territories, hamlets are officially designated municipalities. As of January 1, 2010:

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