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.
Their father, Mark Phillips, turned down an earldom when he married Princess Anne, so they 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
In 1688 his widow was created countess of Stafford for life, and his eldest son, Henry, had the earldom of Stafford, with special remainder to his brothers.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 7 "Horticulture" to "Hudson Bay" 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.
