county

SayKOWN-tee/ˈkaʊn(t)i/UK/ˈkaʊnti/

4 meanings of county

1
regionnouncountable
One of the regions into which a country or a US state is divided, usually with its own local government; in some places a traditional area that no longer has one.
The county approved a new budget for road repairs this year.
Yorkshire was historically the largest county in England.
UsageIn US usage, the name usually comes first: Fairfax County. In a list, a shared lowercase plural is common: Fairfax and Montgomery counties.
Note
Not every state uses the word: Louisiana has parishes and Alaska has boroughs. Elsewhere a county can survive with no government at all, as in Connecticut and Rhode Island, where counties exist only as geographic distinctions.
2
jailnounslangUSuncountable
A jail run by a county government rather than by the state or a city.
The judge sent him to county for ninety days on the misdemeanor charge.
She bailed her cousin out of county before the weekend.
UsageUsually no article: go to county, in county. In neutral writing, county jail is the safer choice.
Similarjail
Note
In Pulp Fiction (1994), The Wolf assumes the two men in front of him have "both been to county before."
3
count's landnounhistoricalcountable or uncountable
The territory held and governed by a count or a countess.
The county passed to the count's eldest son upon his death.
The first of the principalities of the Low Countries to take clear shape was the county of Flanders.
2018, Paul Arblaster, A History of the Low Countries
UsageUsually in the county of + a name: the county of Flanders.
Similarcountship, countdom

Less common meaning

4
upper-classadjectiveBritish
Characteristic of the landed gentry or aristocracy of a county; typical of so-called 'county families.'
His tweed jackets and country pursuits gave him a thoroughly county air.
The wedding had a distinctly county feel, all horses and old family names.
UsageOften with very or thoroughly: very county, a thoroughly county air. Don't confuse with country, which names the landscape.
Similararistocratic, genteel, patrician
Note
A noun turned into a gradable adjective: families can be more county, most county, or, as Andrew Lang put it in The Mark of Cain (1886), very County indeed. It usually follows the verb or sits in a list, as in John le Carré's "a tall girl and county." It passes social judgment on belonging to the old landed families, often drily.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of county apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

This word came from Middle English countee, from Anglo-Norman counté and Old French conté, from Latin comitātus ('the jurisdiction of a count'), from comes ('count, earl'). It is related to Spanish condado and Italian contea, and it mostly replaced the native Old English sċīr, which became Modern English shire.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

County derives through Middle English countee and Anglo-Norman counté / Old French conté from Latin comitātus. en.wiktionary.org
Latin comitātus meant the jurisdiction of a count and derives from comes, meaning count or earl. en.wiktionary.org
County is etymologically related to Spanish condado and Italian contea. en.wiktionary.org
County mostly replaced native Old English sċīr. en.wiktionary.org
Modern English shire descends from Old English sċīr. en.wiktionary.org