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.
Ms. Charlot, a New York native who died at her home in Tepoztlán, Mexico, on Sunday at 101, had been a Hollywood singer before her marriage in the mid-1940s to a viscount, or British nobleman.
From New York Times
In recent years, Eton has admitted more sons of international money — fewer viscounts and more investment bankers — as well as more children from less affluent families, with the number of scholarships growing every year.
From New York Times
A duke is the highest ranking member of the English nobility, followed by marquesses, earls, viscounts and barons.
From New York Times
“Eccentric Lives,” a collection of cheeky obituaries from Britain’s Daily Telegraph, includes one about a viscount who shot at a hot-air balloon.
From New York Times
“So it is unlikely she would have been regarded as anything like an appropriate match for a viscount.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
