county

English Online Dictionary. What means county‎? What does county mean?

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkaʊnti/
• Rhymes: -aʊnti

Noun

county (countable and uncountable, plural counties)

1. (historical) The land ruled by a count or a countess.

   Synonyms: countship, countdom
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. (US, slang, uncountable) A jail operated by a county government.

Usage notes

• In US usage, counties are almost always designated as such, with the word "County" capitalized and following the name — e.g., "Lewis County", rarely "Lewis", and never "County Lewis".
• In British usage, counties are referenced without designation — e.g. "Kent" and never "Kent County". The one exception is Durham, which is often "County Durham" but never "Durham County". An organisation such as Kent County Council is the "County Council" of "Kent" and not the "Council" of "Kent County".
• In Irish usage, counties are designated as such, with the word "County" capitalised and preceding the name — e.g., "County Carlow".
• In Canadian usage, counties are typically designated as such, with the word "County" capitalized and usually preceding the name — e.g., "the County of Two Hills". Occasionally, "County" follows the name, as in "Sturgeon County".

Synonyms

• (from Mandarin Chinese) hsien, xian

Derived terms

Related terms

• count

Descendants

• → German: County
• → Swahili: kaunti

Translations

See also

Adjective

county (comparative more county, superlative most county)

1. Characteristic of a ‘county family’; representative of the gentry or aristocracy of a county.

Middle English

Noun

county

1. Alternative form of counte (“county”)