Perthshire

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A former inland county in central Scotland, known for its rivers, lochs and rugged Highland scenery around Perth and Pitlochry
2. An old Scottish county lying in the centre of the country, famed for its glens, lochs and the River Tay running through it
3. A traditional region of central Scotland whose landscape of mountains, lochs and fertile valleys gave the old county its name

Etymology: Perthshire is a compound of two parts that are easy to separate. The first is Perth, the city on the River Tay in central Scotland, whose name comes from a Pictish or Celtic root meaning something like "thicket" or "bushy place." The second is "-shire," the English word for a county, which Scots and English speakers attached to the names of many shires across the country. The combination describes a region rather than a single town. Perthshire covered the land around the city and extended across a large swathe of the Highlands and Lowlands, taking in glens, lochs and farmland well beyond Perth's walls. It was one of Scotland's historic counties, and its boundaries shaped local government and land records for centuries. Its status as a county has changed. Under later reforms of Scottish local government, the old county ceased to be an administrative unit, though the name remains in common use for the area, for its lieutenancy and for many local institutions.