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.
-
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
-
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; count 2, -ess
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.
Yesterday’s countesses lacked those freedoms and were bound to serve as propriety’s standard bearers.
From Salon
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
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
The countess helped plan the village and designed its pavilion.
From BBC
Moore’s strategic countess can only elevate her position and that of her family by using George, which she does without guilt.
From Salon
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.
