The post Difference between "town", "city" and "metropolis"? describes the usage of terms describing various sizes of cities. In the US, I have never encountered any place called a "village". Places with just a few houses were still called "town", however, I often hear Americans use this term to describe towns in other parts of the world.
- Are there any regions in North America where the term "village" is used?
- Do people in North America want to avoid this term when describing where they live?
- Do Americans use the term differently when describing places within North America and without?
- Does the word carry a derogitory connotation in North America?
Best Answer
As others have explained, the term 'village' is used in the US as a technical designation, a governmental-legalistic denomination.
But hardly anywhere in the US would someone use the term 'village' as a generic term for a very small settlement. That is, there is the official usage 'the village of East Davenport, Iowa', but never, ever, would someone say 'I live in a village outside of the main town'. In that sense, no one would describe or refer to where they live as 'a village'. Americans would use the term for a place in another country, but not for anywhere in the US.
'You live in a village' is not particularly derogatory, it just sounds weird if talking about some place in the US.