countess
Americannoun
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the wife or widow of a count in the nobility of Continental Europe or of an earl in the British peerage.
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a woman having the rank of a count or earl in her own right.
noun
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the wife or widow of a count or earl
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a woman of the rank of count or earl
Gender
What's the difference between countess and count? See -ess.
Etymology
Origin of countess
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English c(o)untesse, from Anglo-French; see origin at count 2, -ess
Explanation
A countess is a noblewoman, equal in status to an earl or a count. Countesses either inherit the title when they're born or gain it by marrying a noble. If a woman marries the Earl of Sandwich, she'll become a countess, although people directly addressing them will call them "Lord" and "Lady." Marrying a viscount or count is another way to gain the title of countess. The idea of such a title, and the word itself, may seem old-fashioned, but there are many countesses living today in England and Scotland. The word countess comes from count and its Latin root, comes, "companion to the emperor."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2017, Epstein introduced Barrett to Nicole Junkermann, a German countess and entrepreneur who Epstein said in an email wanted to invest $100 million through JPMorgan.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
In the film, Huppert's countess character returns to life in a scarlet red funeral barge sailing into in the Seegrotte, an underground Viennese lake popular with tourists.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
As an American woman who married into the British aristocracy back in 2004, the countess knows firsthand the challenge of slipping between two cultures.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2025
When she meets the countess and Blitzkopf the parrot, the magical stories she hears helps her to solve a painful mystery.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2024
He ordered the soldiers to lower their weapons, told us all to stay right where we were, then followed the countess into her study.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
