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.
He gave up an inherited earldom in 1994 in order to keep voting in the Commons.
From BBC • Nov. 29, 2023
The St Cyr series by CS Harris Mitchell has nominated the whole of this historical mystery series about Sebastian St Cyr, Viscount Devlin – master of disguises, heir to an earldom, and disillusioned army officer.
From The Guardian • May 16, 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
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
He would gladly have given his earldom then in exchange for a pair of wings.
From The White Blackbird by Douglas, Hudson
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.
