hamlet

1 of 2

noun (1)

ham·​let ˈham-lət How to pronounce hamlet (audio)
: a small village

Hamlet

2 of 2

noun (2)

Ham·​let ˈham-lət How to pronounce Hamlet (audio)
: a legendary Danish prince and hero of Shakespeare's play Hamlet

Examples of hamlet in a Sentence

Noun (1) she always longed to return to the quiet hamlet where she had been born
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
His unit recently cut a new road through a stretch of hillside between a Palestinian hamlet and Har Bracha, effectively claiming the area for the settlement. Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 But nowhere was truly safe; one day, coalition warplanes struck the hamlet where Jihan and Mahmoud were sheltering, turning the village into an inferno. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 The cause of his death, in a hamlet just north of the state capital in Albany, was cardiac arrhythmia, Clarence J. Sundram, a longtime friend and former colleague in state government, said. Sam Roberts, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Thousands converge on this Hill Country hamlet on the intersection of Texas 29 and U.S. 281 each spring, mostly because of the bluebonnets. 4. David Montesino, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Feb. 2024 As the outpost developed, over 300 people from four nearby Palestinian hamlets fled their homes, citing violence by Levi and other settlers, according to anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now. Julia Frankel, Quartz, 22 Feb. 2024 Pojo is his name, and by Cooper’s telling, the saga of this 6-month-old pig has rallied her rural hamlet of Springtown into an unlikely quest. Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Feb. 2024 The city is named after a tiny hamlet on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Joe Yogerst, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 Hers was one of many other lives that have been shattered by police officer crashes in hamlets and cities across the country. USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hamlet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Anglo-French hamelet, diminutive of ham village, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English hām village, home

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1601, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hamlet was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near hamlet

Cite this Entry

“Hamlet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hamlet. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hamlet

noun
ham·​let ˈham-lət How to pronounce hamlet (audio)
: a small village

More from Merriam-Webster on hamlet

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