county

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coun·ty

(koun′tē)

n. pl. coun·ties

1. The largest administrative division of most states in the United States.

a. A territorial division exercising administrative, judicial, and political functions in Great Britain and Ireland.

b. The territory under the jurisdiction of a count or earl.

3. The people living in a county.

[Middle English counte, territorial division, from Old French conte, the territory of a count, from Medieval Latin comitātus, from Late Latin, the office of count, from Latin, retinue, from comes, comit-, companion; see ei- in Indo-European roots.]

coun′ty adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

county

(ˈkaʊntɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy)

a. any of the administrative or geographic subdivisions of certain states, esp any of the major units into which England and Wales are or have been divided for purposes of local government

b. (as modifier): county cricket.

2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) NZ an electoral division in a rural area

3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) obsolete the lands under the jurisdiction of a count or earl

adj

informal Brit having the characteristics and habits of the inhabitants of country houses and estates, esp an upper-class accent and an interest in horses, dogs, etc

[C14: from Old French conté land belonging to a count, from Late Latin comitātus office of a count, from comes count²]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

coun•ty

(ˈkaʊn ti)

n., pl. -ties.

1. the largest local administrative division in most states of the U.S.

2. a territorial division and unit of local government in Great Britain, Canada, etc.

3. the territory of a county, esp. its rural areas.

4. the inhabitants of a county.

5. the domain of a count or earl.

[1250–1300; Middle English counte < Anglo-French counté, Old French cunté, conte < Late Latin comitātus imperial seat, office of a comes (see count²)]

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Noun	1.	county - (United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government; "the county has a population of 12,345 people" county courthouse, county seat - the town or city that is the seat of government for a county region, part - the extended spatial location of something; "the farming regions of France"; "religions in all parts of the world"; "regions of outer space" Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom Isle of Wight, Wight - an isle and county of southern England in the English Channel
	2.	county - (United States) the largest administrative district within a state; "the county plans to build a new road" administrative district, administrative division, territorial division - a district defined for administrative purposes U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. - North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776

county

noun

1. province, district, shire He is living now in his mother's home county of Oxfordshire.

adjective

1. (Informal) upper-class, upper-crust (informal), tweedy, plummy (informal), green-wellie, huntin', shootin', and fishin' (informal) They were all upper-crust ladies, pillars of the county set.

Counties

English counties Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater London, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Somerset, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and Wear, Warwickshire, West Midlands, West Sussex, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire

Former English counties Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Suffolk, East Sussex, East Yorkshire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater London, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, Westmorland, West Suffolk, West Sussex, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire

Scottish counties Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Western Isles (Eilean Siar), West Lothian

Former Scottish counties Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll, Ayrshire, Banff or Banffshire, Berwickshire, Bute, Caithness, Clackmannanshire, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Dundee, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, Inverness-shire, Kincardine or Kincardineshire, Kinross or Kinross-shire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Moray, Nairn or Nairnshire, Orkney, Peeblesshire, Perthshire, Renfrewshire, Ross and Cromarty, Roxburgh or Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire, Shetland, Stirlingshire, Sutherland, West Lothian, Wigtownshire

Welsh counties Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan, Powys, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan

Former Welsh counties Anglesey, Brecknock, Caernarvonshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Merioneth, Montgomeryshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnor

Northern Irish counties Antrim, Armagh, Belfast City, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Londonderry City, Tyrone

Republic of Ireland counties Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

إقْلـيم

hrabstvíokres

amt

Grafschaft Landkreis Bezirk

κομητεία νομός

condado comarca

kreivikunta

comté

grófságmegye

héraî

contea provincia

grafystėapygarda

apgabalsgrāfiste

grófstvo

grofijaokrožje

ilvilâyet

县

county

[ˈkaʊntɪ]

A. N (Brit) → condado m (US) (= subdivision of state) → comarca f, provincia f

B. CPD county boundary N → límite m comarcal or provincial
county clerk's office N (US) → registro m civil
county council, county commission (US) N → diputación f provincial
county court N (Brit) → juzgado m de primera instancia
county cricket N (Brit) partidos de cricket entre los condados
county family N (Brit) → familia f aristocrática rural
county recorder's office N (US) → registro m de la propiedad
county road N (US) → carretera f secundaria
county seat N (US) = county town county town N (Brit) → capital f de condado

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

county

[ˈkaʊnti] n → comté mcounty council n (British) → conseil régionalcounty court n → tribunal m d'instancecounty prison n (US) → prison f centralecounty seat n (US) → chef-lieu mcounty town n (British) → chef-lieu m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

county

n (Brit) → Grafschaft f; (US) → (Verwaltungs)bezirk m

adj (Brit) family → zum Landadel gehörend; accent, behaviour → vornehm; occasion → für den Landadel; the county set → die feinen Pinkel (inf)

county

county borough

n (Brit) Stadt mit grafschaftlichen Rechten

county council

n (Brit) → Grafschaftsrat m

county court

n (Brit) → Grafschaftsgericht nt

county seat

n (US) Hauptstadt eines Verwaltungsbezirkes

county town

n (Brit) Hauptstadt einer Grafschaft

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

county

[ˈkaʊntɪ]

1. n → contea

2. adj (boundary, court) → di contea

county

(ˈkaunti) – plural ˈcounties – noun

a large administrative unit of local government in England and Wales and in the United States.

county

n (pl -ties) (US) condado

References in classic literature ?

Suppose, for instance, the city of Albany was to be appointed the sole place of election for the county and district of which it is a part, would not the inhabitants of that city speedily become the only electors of the members both of the Senate and Assembly for that county and district?

View in context

Besides a variety of powerful causes not existing here, and which favor in that country the pretensions of rank and wealth, no person is eligible as a representative of a county, unless he possess real estate of the clear value of six hundred pounds sterling per year; nor of a city or borough, unless he possess a like estate of half that annual value.

View in context

New York having but one county of Otsego, and the Susquehanna but one proper source, there can be no mistake as to the site of the tale.

View in context

"It was only my whim," he said; and, after a moment's hesitation: "It was on account of a discovery I made some little time ago, whilst I was hunting up pedigrees for the new county history.

View in context

Pursuing the light so fortunately hit upon, and finding the concurrent testimony of the whole of Mrs General's acquaintance to be of the pathetic nature already recorded, Mr Dorrit took the trouble of going down to the county of the county-widower to see Mrs General, in whom he found a lady of a quality superior to his highest expectations.

View in context

For this reason I should be glad were fortune soon to offer me some opportunity of making myself an emperor, so as to show my heart in doing good to my friends, particularly to this poor Sancho Panza, my squire, who is the best fellow in the world; and I would gladly give him a county I have promised him this ever so long, only that I am afraid he has not the capacity to govern his realm."

View in context

In the county in which Tuskegee is situated the coloured people outnumbered the whites by about three to one.

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IN the spring of the year eighteen hundred and sixty-eight there lived, in a certain county of North Britain, two venerable White Owls.

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Corpus Christi, in the county of Nueces, and all the cities situated on the Rio Bravo, Laredo, Comalites, San Ignacio on the Web, Rio Grande City on the Starr, Edinburgh in the Hidalgo, Santa Rita, Elpanda, Brownsville in the Cameron, formed an imposing league against the pretensions of Florida.

View in context

The Reverend Bute Crawley was a tall, stately, jolly, shovel-hatted man, far more popular in his county than the Baronet his brother.

View in context

However, it is time for us to get from the general to the particular; so, leaving the great army of Browns, who are scattered over the whole empire on which the sun never sets, and whose general diffusion I take to be the chief cause of that empire's stability; let us at once fix our attention upon the small nest of Browns in which our hero was hatched, and which dwelt in that portion of the royal county of Berks which is called the Vale of White Horse.

View in context

Warden," he added to that official, as the Convict slunk away, "in appointing you to this position, I was given to understand that your friends could make the Shikane county delegation to the next State convention solid for - for the present Administration.