COUNTY Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

county

[ koun-tee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural counties.

the largest administrative division of a U.S. state:
Miami, Florida, is in Dade County.
one of the chief administrative divisions of a country or state, as in Great Britain and Ireland.
one of the larger divisions for purposes of local administration, as in Canada and New Zealand.
the territory of a county, especially its rural areas:
We farmed out in the county before moving to town.
the inhabitants of a county:
It was supposed to be a secret, but you told the whole county.
the domain of a count or earl.

county

[ koun-tee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Obsolete.

count ².

county

/ ˈ�첹ʊ�Գ�ɪ /

noun

1. any of the administrative or geographic subdivisions of certain states, esp any of the major units into which England and Wales are or have been divided for purposes of local government
2. ( as modifier )
  county cricket
an electoral division in a rural area
obsolete.
the lands under the jurisdiction of a count or earl

adjective

informal.
having the characteristics and habits of the inhabitants of country houses and estates, esp an upper-class accent and an interest in horses, dogs, etc

Discover More

51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of county¹

1250–1300; Middle English counte < Anglo-French ��ǳܲԳ�é, Old French cunté, conte < Late Latin ��ǳ��ٳܲ� imperial seat, office of a comes ( count ² ), equivalent to Latin comit-, stem of comes + -��ٳܲ� -ate ³ (or by reanalysis of Latin ��ǳ��ٳܲ� escort, retinue, originally verbal noun of ��ǳ��ī to accompany, derivative of comes

Origin of county²

1540–50; < Anglo-French counte count ²; -y by confusion with county ¹

Discover More

51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of county¹

C14: from Old French ��ǲԳ�é land belonging to a count, from Late Latin ��ǳ��ٳܲ� office of a count, from comes count ²

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

This has been widely described in the national press as a move to the city of Sacramento, California’s capital, which is across the river from West Sacramento and in a different county.

From

No counties in south-east Wales have an increase of 8% or more.

From

In the Inland Empire, highs Thursday and Friday are forecast to reach into the low 90s, while Los Angeles and Orange counties’ inland valleys will probably get into the 80s.

From

He was the chubby kid at Sedbergh, told he would not make a county cricketer because he was not fit enough in the field.

From

In one study of 22 prisons and six county jails, one-third of pregnant people with opioid use disorder were not given medication-assisted treatment, and of those who were, very few initiated it in custody.

From

Browse