viscount
Americannoun
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a nobleman next below an earl or count and next above a baron.
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History/Historical. a deputy of a count or earl.
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(in England) a sheriff.
noun
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(in the British Isles) a nobleman ranking below an earl and above a baron
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(in various countries) a son or younger brother of a count See also vicomte
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(in medieval Europe) the deputy of a count
Etymology
Origin of viscount
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English viscounte, from Anglo-French; Old French visconte, from vis vice 3 + counte count 2, translation of Medieval Latin vicecomes
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.
Former lovers, a marquise and a viscount, pass the time in decadent games of destruction in pre-revolutionary France.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 23, 2019
Queue up these tunes, and your pup will be able to wait out storms with the refinement and sophistication of a forlorn viscount peering out his estate’s rainy window.
From Slate • May 16, 2019
Imagine the interest once all the old private art collections are opened to the public, and an actual viscount can tell you how his great-great-grandad won that Rembrandt in a game of cards.
From The Guardian • May 10, 2019
Another group of deniers, led by a British viscount with a degree in classical architecture, asked to file an amicus brief in the case.
From The Verge • Mar. 22, 2018
“Who cares if a Modegan viscount outranks a Vintish spara-thain?”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
