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.
They were childhood friends, and the name was short for Lord Porchester, the courtesy title by which he was known until he inherited the earldom.
From The Guardian • Nov. 11, 2019
The Queen could decide to give Jack a title ahead of his wedding - possibly an earldom.
From BBC • Oct. 4, 2018
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
The garter is a rag; the earldom is a word; the lordship is the right to have your head cut off.
From The Dramas of Victor Hugo: Mary Tudor, Marion de Lorme, Esmeralda by Hugo, Victor
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.
