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

And the speeds won’t be nearly as severe as January’s winds, which reached 100 mph in some places, feeding two major fires on opposite sides of the county.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The woman was transported to the county Coroner’s Office where an autopsy found injuries consistent with a fall, the sheriff’s department said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This would have rendered some 584 U.S. counties out of compliance and effectively meant new factories and gas-fired power plants couldn’t be built there.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She started at Seneca Health Services in January, working in rural West Virginia counties with residents facing challenges like depression or schizophrenia.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Graves said the county had 43 applications for the role and interviewed nine candidates.

Read more on BBC