Definitions for county
ˈkaʊn ticoun·ty

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. countynoun

   (United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government

   "the county has a population of 12,345 people"

2. countynoun

   (United States) the largest administrative district within a state

   "the county plans to build a new road"

Wiktionary(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. countynoun

   The land ruled by a count or a countess.

2. countynoun

   An administrative region of various countries, including Bhutan, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro and Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

3. countynoun

   A definitive geographic region, without direct administrative functions, as in traditional county.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Countynoun

   1.A shire; that is, a circuit or portion of the realm, into which the whole land is divided, for the better government thereof, and the more easy administration of justice; so that there is no part of the kingdom, but what lieth within some county. Every county is governed by a yearly officer, called a sheriff, who, among other duties belonging to his office, puts in execution all the commands and judgments of the king’s courts. Of these counties four are termed county-palatines, as that of Lancaster, Chester, Durham, and Ely. A county-palatine is a jurisdiction of so high a nature, that whereas all pleas, touching the life and the maiming of a man, called pleas of the crown, and ordinarily held in the king’s name, and which cannot pass in the name of any other; the chief governors, of these, by special charter from the king, sent out all writs in their own name, and did all things touching justice as absolutely as the prince himself in other counties, only acknowledging him their superior and sovereign. But this power has, by a statute in Henry VIII. his time, been much abridged. Besides the above counties of both sorts, there are likewise counties corporate, which are certain cities or ancient boroughs upon which our princes have thought good to bestow extraordinary liberties. Of these London is one, York another, the city of Chester a third, and Canterbury a fourth. And to these may be added many more; as the county of the town of Kingston upon Hull, the county of the town of Haverfordwest, and the county of Litchfield. County is, in another signification, used for the county-court which the sheriff keeps every month within his charge, either by himself or his deputy. Of these counties, one with another, there are reckoned thirty-seven in England, besides twelve in Wales. John Cowell

   Etymology: comtè, Fr. comitatus, Latin.

   Discharge your powers unto their several counties,
   As we will ours. William Shakespeare, Henry IV. p. ii.

   He caught his death the last county sessions, where he would go to see justice done to a poor widow-woman and her fatherless children. Joseph Addison, Spectator, №. 517.

   2. An earldom.3. A count; a lord: now wholly obsolete.

   The gallant, young, and noble gentleman,
   The county Paris. William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.

   He made Hugh Lupus county palatine of Chester, and gave that earldom to him and his heirs, to hold the same ita liberè ad gladium sicut rex tenebat Angliam ad coronam. Davies.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Countynoun

   an earldom; the domain of a count or earl

2. Countynoun

   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

3. Countynoun

   a count; an earl or lord

4. Etymology: [F. comt, fr. LL. comitatus. See Count.]

Freebase(2.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. County

   A county is a geographical region of a country used for administrative or other purposes in certain modern nations. Its etymology derives from the Old French term, conté or cunté and could denote a jurisdiction in mainland Europe, under the sovereignty of a count or a viscount. The modern French is comté, and its equivalents in other languages are contea, contado, comtat, condado, Grafschaft, Gau, etc.. When the Normans conquered England, they brought the term with them. The Saxons had already established the regions that became the Historic counties of England calling them shires. The Vikings introduced the term earl to the British Isles. Thus, "earl" and "earldom" were taken as equivalent to the continental use of "count" and "county". So, the later-imported term became a synonym for the native English word scir or, in Modern English, shire. Since a shire was an administrative division of the kingdom, the term "county" evolved to designate an administrative division of national government in most modern uses.

Matched Categories

1. • Administrative District
   • Region

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'county' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1121

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'county' in Written Corpus Frequency: #365

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'county' in Nouns Frequency: #336

How to pronounce county?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say county in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of county in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of county in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of county in a Sentence

1. Steve Doocy:

   We did reach out to this Loudoun County school district for a statement, and you know what, they haven't gotten back to us. Will they? If they do, we will let you know, i'm not going to hold my breathe.

2. William Gheen:

   (Trump) risks alienating the very powerful base that elected him if he doesn’t act soon. We’ve given Republicans all of the branches of government, and we don’t want to see them support DACA by any means. Orange County Register, Jan. 27, 2017

3. Mark Manweiler:

   (Faucher) is well-liked and well-known, he counts among his good friends people at the highest level of both branches, both of state government and our local government and some judicial officials here in Ada County.

4. William Patzert:

   Get ready down in Malibu and all along the Orange County coast for a big battering from El Nino.

5. Sarah Chester:

   Of course, and Orange County would be great.

Popularity rank by frequency of use