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

Fans in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Ventura, San Bernardino, Oklahoma, Canadian and Cleveland counties will be able to input their zip codes during registration to be entered into the locals presale.

From Los Angeles Times

The motion instructs county counsel to draft an ordinance for board consideration within 30 days.

From Los Angeles Times

In Northern Ireland—those counties that remained part of the U.K. after the rest of the island was granted independence in 1922—a “protestant parliament” governed a “protestant state.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Reports commissioned by the county and state have, so far, been reluctant to point fingers.

From Los Angeles Times

A plan to house county behavioral health patients at the site this past summer was also scrapped.

From Los Angeles Times