noun
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the rank, title, or dignity of an earl or countess
-
the lands of an earl or countess
Etymology
Origin of earldom
before 1150; Middle English erldom, Old English eorldōm. See earl, -dom,
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.
Mark Phillips refused the offer of an earldom when he married so their children do not have courtesy titles.
From BBC ● May 6, 2019
My aunt, now in her nineties, grew up partly in the house of her grandfather, the heir to an earldom.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 22, 2018
Later, promoted to his earldom, he remarried without telling them.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 26, 2017
And I have no idea what’s to come of Lagertha and her earldom, Kalf, and the various bad-guy heirs who want to see Ragnar dead.
From Forbes ● Mar. 19, 2015
The title of marquess of Hertford became extinct when John, 4th duke of Somerset, died in 1675, and the earldom when Algernon, the 7th duke, died in February 1750.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various
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.
