county

¹

[koun-tee]

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.

county

²

[koun-tee]

noun

Obsolete.

1. count.

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

The following month, copper thieves caused widespread internet service outages that affected swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It is a prime downtown location and it is estimated to be worth more than $67 million, according to county appraisers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Officials in Lincolnshire have also complained that developments have been unfairly concentrated in the county, with one complaining it was becoming a dumping ground for green energy projects that benefits other parts of the country.

Read more on BBC

A flash flood watch is in effect for most of the county from 8 p.m.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Air sampling in 2016 revealed that some parts of Paramount were exposed to levels more than 50 times higher than in other areas of Los Angeles County, according the county Department of Public Health.

Read more on Los Angeles Times