English Explanatory Dictionary

county

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The land ruled by a count or a countess.
  2. An administrative or geographical region of various countries, including Bhutan, Canada, China, Croatia, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and 47 of the 50 United States (excluding Alaska, Connecticut, and Louisiana).
  3. A definitive geographic region, without direct administrative functions.
  4. A jail operated by a county government.
adj
  1. Characteristic of a ‘county family’; representative of the gentry or aristocracy of a county.

Pronunciation

kountē /ˈkaʊnti/ /ˈkuːntɪ/ /ˈkaʊn(t)i/ [ˈkʰaʊ̯nti] [ˈkʰaʊ̯ɾ̃i] en-us-county.ogg

Word forms

county counties more county most county

Etymology

From Middle English countee, counte, conte, from Anglo-Norman counté, Old French conté (French comté), from Latin comitātus (“jurisdiction of a count”), from comes (“count, earl”). Cognate with Spanish condado (“county”) and Italian contea (“county”). Doublet of comitatus, borrowed directly from Latin. Mostly displaced native Old English sċīr, whence Modern English shire.

Synonyms

xian countship countdom hsien

Related words

count barony bishopric countdom duchy earldom kingdom march margravate margraviate marquesate marquessate marquisate nobility parish principality regality royalty shire viscountcy viscounty

Derived words

32-county another county heard from ceremonial county city and county collar county Countian county at large county borough county boundary county brownie county council county court county cricket county crop county fair county family county farm County Gates countyhood countyism county jail county-level city county-level municipality countylike county line county palatinate county palatine county seat county town countywide God's own county historic county Home Counties home county intercounty intracounty metropolitan county multicounty noncounty Norfolk County Orangeburg County preserved county regional county municipality registration county Sharkey County Six Counties subcounty traditional county tricounty Twenty-Six Counties
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