county

¹

[ koun-tee ]

noun

, plural coun·ties.

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.

county

²

[ koun-tee ]

noun

, Obsolete.

1. count ².

county

/ 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

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

Word History and Origins

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 county²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of county¹

C14: from Old French conté land belonging to a count, from Late Latin comitātus office of a count, from comes count ²

Example Sentences

“Please, please do not permit this to happen here in Florida,” wrote Cris K. Smith of East Polk County.

From The Daily Beast

As of this afternoon, gay Floridians can get married in Dade County.

From The Daily Beast

Will Christian pharmacists, county clerks, florists, and for-profit wedding chapels really withdraw from society, as you describe?

From The Daily Beast

Kocurek became especially frustrated with a commercial waste facility in Jim Wells County.

From The Daily Beast

Sonoma County district attorney Jill Ravitch announced in July that she would not bring criminal charges against Gelhaus.

From The Daily Beast

The taxes whether public, county, or parish, were payable in tobacco.

From Project Gutenberg

He had the land in Tripp County that was broken into winter wheat, while that in the next county east was rented.

From Project Gutenberg

Better wait till these county nobs have cleared, I suppose—there goes the last of 'em—now for it!

From Project Gutenberg

A destructive tornado swept over a portion of Lapeer county, Michigan.

From Project Gutenberg

Samuel Dale, an eminent pioneer in the settlement of the southwest, died in Lauderdale county, Mississippi.

From Project Gutenberg