HAM'LET, noun A small village; a little cluster of houses in the country. This word seems originally to have signified the seat of a freeholder, comprehending the mansion house and adjacent buildings. It now denotes a small collection of houses in the country, in distinction from a city, a large town or township. The country wasted and the hamlets burned.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI