Devonshire

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A historic county in the southwest of England known for its rolling countryside, coastal scenery, and cultural heritage including the city of Exeter ; a title historically used to denote nobility associated with this region ; a style of clotted cream and traditional English tea associated with this geographic area
2. An English county located in the southwestern part of the country noted for its rural landscapes, seaside resorts, and historical sites ; a designation linked to aristocratic titles bearing this region’s name ; a term sometimes describing a regional culinary specialty involving clotted cream and scones served with tea
3. A territorial division in southwest England recognized for its natural beauty, maritime towns, and historical importance ; an appellation for a peerage title derived from this locality ; a reference to a traditional English cream often used in afternoon tea customs originating from this area

Etymology: Devonshire takes its name from the county of Devon, which is older than the "-shire" that now follows it. The Old English form "Defenasċīr" combined the name of the people who lived there, the Defnas, with "scīr," a word for a district or administrative area. The "-shire" ending is the same element found in Wiltshire, Yorkshire and many other English counties, and it is one of the few English suffixes that still marks a shire in its own right rather than a single town. The compound became a standard way to name a county, so "Devonshire" and "Devon" have long been interchangeable in ordinary speech. Its use as a title is a separate matter: the Dukes of Devonshire took their name from the county, a pattern shared by many English peerages that borrow a regional name. The adjective and the culinary sense, as in "Devonshire cream tea," simply inherit the regional meaning, with the county's dairy farming giving the clotted cream its name.