County

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkaʊnti/

Definitions

1. A geographical and administrative division of a state or country, typically governed by elected officials
2. A designated geographical area within a larger political unit that has its own level of government and administrative responsibilities
3. A regional division within a nation or state that allows local governance and administration to cater to community needs

Etymology: The English word "county" shares its root with "count" in the sense of a nobleman, not the sense of counting numbers. Latin "comes" meant a companion or attendant, and over time it came to denote a count or earl, a royal official entrusted with governing a district on the king's behalf. The Latin "comitatus" named the territory under that official's jurisdiction, and it passed into Middle English as "countee" and "counte" through Anglo-Norman and Old French "conté," which is the same word that gives modern French "comté." English already had its own word for this kind of district: "shire," from Old English "scīr," which survives in place names such as Yorkshire and Wiltshire. "County" largely displaced it, but the two words are doublets, both descending from the same Latin "comitatus" in a sense, though "shire" came from the native Old English stock rather than through the Latin route.

Synonyms: district, region, area, locality, division