Adjacent Words

County definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COUNTY, n. [L. See Count.]
1. Originally, an earldom; the district or territory of a count or earl. Now, a circuit or particular portion of a state or kingdom, separated from the rest of the territory, for certain purposes in the administration of justice. It is called also a shire. [See Shire.] Each county has its sheriff and its court, with other officers employed in the administration of justice and the execution of the laws. In England there are fifty two counties, and in each is a Lord Lieutenant, who has command of the militia. The several states of America are divided by law into counties, in each of which is a county court of inferior jurisdiction; and in each, the supreme court of the state holds stated sessions.
2. A count; an earl or lord.
County court, the court whose jurisdiction is limited to a county, whose powers, in America, depend on statutes. In England, it is incident to the jurisdiction of the sheriff.
County palatine, in England, is a county distinguished by particular privileges; so called a palatio, the palace, because the owner had originally royal powers, or the same powers in the administration of justice, as the king had in his palace; but their powers are not abridged. The counties palatine, in England, are Lancaster, Chester and Durham.
County corporate, is a county invested with particular privileges by charter or royal grant; as London, York, Bristol, etc.
COUNTY, a. Pertaining to a county; as county court.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government; "the county has a population of 12,345 people"
2: (United States) the largest administrative district within a state; "the county plans to build a new road"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural counties) Etymology: Middle English counte, from Anglo-French cunté, counté, from Medieval Latin comitatus, from Late Latin, office of a count, from comit-, comes count — more at count Date: 14th century 1. the domain of a count 2. a. one of the territorial divisions of England and Wales and formerly also of Scotland and Northern Ireland constituting the chief units for administrative, judicial, and political purposes b. (1) the people of a county (2) British the gentry of a county 3. the largest territorial division for local government within a state of the United States 4. the largest local administrative unit in various countries • county adjective II. noun (plural counties) Etymology: modification of Middle French comte Date: 1550 archaic count III

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 a any of the territorial divisions of some countries, forming the chief unit of local administration. b US a political and administrative division of a State. 2 the people of a county, esp. the leading families. --adj. having the social status or characteristics of county families. Phrases and idioms: county borough hist. a large borough ranking as a county for administrative purposes. county corporate hist. a city or town ranking as an administrative county. county council the elected governing body of an administrative county. county court a judicial court for civil cases (in the US for civil and criminal cases). county cricket cricket matches between teams representing counties. county family an aristocratic family with an ancestral seat in a county. County Palatine the territory of a Count or Earl Palatine. county town (US seat) the administrative capital of a county. Etymology: ME f. AF counté, OF conté, cunté, f. L comitatus (as COUNT(2))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

County Coun"ty (koun"t?), n.; pl. Counties (-t?z). [F. comt?, fr. LL. comitatus. See Count.] 1. An earldom; the domain of a count or earl. [Obs.] 2. A circuit or particular portion of a state or kingdom, separated from the rest of the territory, for certain purposes in the administration of justice and public affairs; -- called also a shire. See Shire. Every county, every town, every family, was in agitation. --Macaulay.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(counties) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. A county is a region of Britain, Ireland, or the USA which has its own local government. Over 50 events are planned throughout the county. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Shire.

Moby Thesaurus

Kreis, ally, archbishopric, archdiocese, archduchy, archdukedom, arrondissement, bailiwick, bishopric, body politic, borough, buffer state, canton, captive nation, chieftaincy, chieftainry, city, city-state, colony, commonweal, commonwealth, commune, congressional district, constablewick, country, departement, diocese, district, domain, dominion, duchy, dukedom, earldom, electoral district, electorate, empery, empire, free city, government, grand duchy, hamlet, hundred, kingdom, land, magistracy, mandant, mandate, mandated territory, mandatee, mandatory, metropolis, metropolitan area, nation, nationality, oblast, okrug, parish, polis, polity, possession, power, precinct, principality, principate, protectorate, province, puppet government, puppet regime, realm, region, republic, riding, satellite, seneschalty, settlement, sheriffalty, sheriffwick, shire, shrievalty, soke, sovereign nation, stake, state, sultanate, superpower, territory, toparchia, toparchy, town, township, village, wapentake, ward