Municipio

A municipio (Spanish: [muniˈθipjo/muniˈsipjo]) or município (Portuguese: [muniˈsipiu]) is an administrative division in several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. It is often translated as "municipality." It comes from mūnicipium (Latin: [muːnɪˈkɪpiʊ̃ˑ]), meaning a township.

In English, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or town,^[1] but in Spanish, the term municipio may mean not 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: [mu.ni.t͡ʃi.pa.liˈta]) refers to a single city or to a group of cities and towns in a township, and the term municipio (IPA: [mu.niˈt͡ʃi.pjo]) 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]