entry
county
/ˈkaʊnti/Administrative region within a state or country
From Latin comes / comitātus (Count).
from Latin comes (see count (n.1)). It replaced Old English scir "shire."
from Late Latin comitatus "jurisdiction of a count,"
+1 more sourcefrom Anglo-French counte
+1 more sourcefrom Anglo-French counte
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin comes (see count (n.1)). It replaced Old English scir "shire."
from Late Latin comitatus "jurisdiction of a count,"
+1 more sourcefrom Anglo-French counte
+1 more sourcefrom Anglo-French counte
+1 more sourceA county began life not as a neatly marked patch on a map, but as the territory controlled by a count—an official whose Latin title was comes, “companion” or court associate. In Late Latin, that territory became a comitātus, literally the jurisdiction of a count; Anglo-French turned it into counte, and Middle English eventually polished it into countee and county. The word displaced Old English sċīr, the ancestor of shire, so England’s linguistic landscape preserves a small Norman takeover: county won the administrative job, while shire survived in names such as Yorkshire. The same county can also summon a posse, because posse comitatus meant “the force of the county,” the sheriff’s legally summoned body of men. And bourbon acquired its name from Bourbon County, Kentucky, organized in 1785—so a drink, a sheriff’s posse, and your local government district all retain faint echoes of the medieval count.
The Story
A county began life not as a neatly marked patch on a map, but as the territory controlled by a count—an official whose Latin title was comes, “companion” or court associate. In Late Latin, that territory became a comitātus, literally the jurisdiction of a count; Anglo-French turned it into counte, and Middle English eventually polished it into countee and county. The word displaced Old English sċīr, the ancestor of shire, so England’s linguistic landscape preserves a small Norman takeover: county won the administrative job, while shire survived in names such as Yorkshire. The same county can also summon a posse, because posse comitatus meant “the force of the county,” the sheriff’s legally summoned body of men. And bourbon acquired its name from Bourbon County, Kentucky, organized in 1785—so a drink, a sheriff’s posse, and your local government district all retain faint echoes of the medieval count.
Modern Usage
In some British usage, representing an elite county-level sports standard or status
Kin & Kindred
From 'comes / comitātus'·Count, earl; jurisdiction or territory of a count
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary