county

¹ American  

[koun-tee] / ˈkaʊn ti /

noun

plural

counties

1. the largest administrative division of a U.S. state.

   Miami, Florida, is in Dade County.

2. one of the chief administrative divisions of a country or state, as in Great Britain and Ireland.

3. one of the larger divisions for purposes of local administration, as in Canada and New Zealand.

4. the territory of a county, especially its rural areas.

   We farmed out in the county before moving to town.

5. the inhabitants of a county.

   It was supposed to be a secret, but you told the whole county.

6. the domain of a count or earl.

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county ² American  

[koun-tee] / ˈkaʊn ti /

noun

Obsolete.

1. count.

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county British  

/ ˈkaʊntɪ /

noun

1. 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

2. an electoral division in a rural area

3. obsolete the lands under the jurisdiction of a count or earl

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adjective

1. 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

Etymology

Origin of county¹

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

Origin of county¹

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

Example Sentences

Anderson described him as a "homebody" who "liked to gig around the home counties".

From BBC

That assessment could ultimately lead to a not guilty by insanity plea, but could also provide evidence to move Reiner from the county jail to a private psychiatric facility.

From Los Angeles Times

It picks the state’s election director and members of county election boards, which maintain voter registration lists and operate voting sites.

From Salon

A duty of care to Bashir, who does not even have a county contract, has been offered as one reason for his absence.

From BBC

Earlier on Tuesday, detectives provided testimony to the Navajo County grand jury and obtained an indictment and an arrest warrant from the county’s Superior Court.

From Los Angeles Times