A municipio (Spanish:[muniˈθipjo,muniˈsipjo]) or município (Portuguese:[muniˈsipju,muniˈsipiu]) is an administrative division in several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. It is often translated as 'municipality' in English. It comes from mūnicipium (Latin:[muːnɪˈkɪpiʊ̃ˑ]), meaning 'township'.
In English, a municipality is often defined as relating to a single city or town,[1] but in Spanish, the term municipio may not refer to a single city or town but rather a jurisdiction with several towns and cities such as a township, county, borough or civil parish.[2] The Italian term municipalità (IPA:[muniˌt͡ʃipaliˈta]) refers to a single city or to a group of cities and towns in a township, and the term municipio (IPA:[muniˈt͡ʃiːpjo]) is used for city subdivisions. On the other hand, usage of município in Portuguese is almost entirely restricted to a cluster of cities or towns such as a county or township. However, in Brazil, a município is an independent city and a public corporation with the status of a federated entity.[3] In the Philippines, a munisipyo (Tagalog:[mʊnɪˈsipjo]) may refer to a town hall.
