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earldom

[url-duh m]
noun
  1. Also called earlship. the rank or title of an earl.
  2. the territory or jurisdiction of an earl.
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Origin of earldom

before 1150; Middle English erldom, Old English eorldōm. See earl, -dom,
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for earldom

Historical Examples

  • It will be time enough to think about it if he comes again now he has got the earldom.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • He was the heir to the earldom, for the earl had never married.

    The Christian

    Hall Caine

  • In the play as in history, Charles now confers upon Wentworth an Earldom.

    Browning's England

    Helen Archibald Clarke

  • I am Earl Inewl, but I have lost the lands that made my earldom.

  • Drummond, a claimant of the honours and estates of the Earldom of Perth.

British Dictionary definitions for earldom

earldom

noun
  1. the rank, title, or dignity of an earl or countess
  2. the lands of an earl or countess
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for earldom

n.

early 12c., from earl + -dom.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper