county

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 English condado (“county”). Doublet of comitatus, borrowed directly from Latin.

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

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• Rhymes: -aʊnti

county (plural counties)

1. (historical) The land ruled by a count or a countess.
2. An administrative region of various countries, including Bhutan, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
3. A definitive geographic region, without direct administrative functions.

   traditional county

4. (US, slang) A jail operated by a county government.

• In American 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". Exceptions are; Durham, which is often "County Durham" (but never "Durham County"); and the counties of Northern Ireland. 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 frequently referenced, but like Durham precede the name — e.g., "County Cork" or "Cork" and never "Cork County."
• 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".

• count

• shire

• German: County

county (comparative more county, superlative most county)

1. Characteristic of a ‘county family’; representative of the gentry or aristocracy of a county.
   • 1886, Andrew Lang, The Mark of Cain:

     Now, in the district around Chipping Carby, the County Families are very County indeed, few more so.

   • 1979, John Le Carré, Smiley's People, Folio Society 2010, p. 274:

     She was a tall girl and county, with Hilary's walk: she seemed to topple even when she sat.

   • 2007, Heather Julien, Gender and Literacy in Britain, 1847--1987, →ISBN:

     The other two, like many of her characters, have fallen on harder times: Joan's family has recently lost her father, a small flour-mill owner -- described by a supporter as more "county" than the upstart newcomers who covet their property ...

   • 2015, Kate Macdonald, Novelists Against Social Change: Conservative Popular Fiction, 1920-1960, →ISBN:

     Susan Dean realises that her secretary, Eleanor Grantly, is much more county than she ever will be, because Eleanor knows all the Barsetshire family connections and is connected herself.