hamlet

1 of 2

noun (1)

ham·​let ˈham-lət 

: a small village

Hamlet

2 of 2

noun (2)

Ham·​let ˈham-lət 

: a legendary Danish prince and hero of Shakespeare's play Hamlet

Synonyms of hamlet

Noun (1)

• village

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

Early life and education Wangchuk’s family was one of only five households in the alpine hamlet of Uleytokpo—about 44 miles (70 km) from the city of Leh in present-day Ladakh, then part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 July 2026

The six tracks originated as live material, all previously unreleased, from two shows in 2025, one in the spiritually eclectic hamlet of Crestone (once home to the Love Has Won cult), the other in Denver. — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 17 July 2026

Noun

Founded by Puritans from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, Boston got its name from a hamlet in Lincolnshire, England. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 June 2026

With far less hair, Ella’s green eyes seemed greener, like those of the feral black cats that roamed their hamlet, meowing for table scraps, which were often given without hesitation. — Literary Hub, 18 June 2026

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

Kids Definition

hamlet

noun

ham·​let ˈham-lət 

: a small village