countyn.1adj.
/ˈkaʊnti/, U.S. /ˈkaʊn(t)i/ A. n.1
I. An administrative division of Great Britain and Ireland, (former) British colonies, and the United States (and related senses).† 1. Law. The periodical meeting, convention, or court held under the sheriff for the transaction of the business of a shire; = county court n. 1a; (also) a particular session of this court. Obsolete (in later use historical).
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society > law > administration of justice > judicial body, assembly, or court > [noun] > court of shire or part of shire > held periodically
sizea1300
shire-court1376
county?1387
assizec1405
view of frankpledge1495
county courtc1520
quarter sessions1538
?1387 T. Wimbledon Serm. (Corpus Cambr.) (1967) 84 (MED) But ȝif a pore man plede wiþ a riche man, þan þer schal be so many delayes þat, þouȝ þe pore mannes riȝt be open to al þe comite [c1400 Trin. Cambr. comente, c1450 Hatton cuntre], for pure faute of spendyng he shal be glad to cese.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 8911 (MED) Also hyt ys vyleynye to werche, A lewed man to plete yn cherche, lay courte, or elles counte.
1445–6 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Feb. 1445 §40. m. 6 That the shirref of every shire..in the next counte holden in thaire shires..make an opyn proclamacion..of the suytours of the seid countees than beyng there, in the pleyne counte.
1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 26 §14 The Shire courte or Countie of and for the said Shire or Countie of Brekenok shalbe holden and kepte in the said Towne of Brekenok.
1549 Act 2 & 3 Edw. VI c. 25 Shires which haue and vse their Counties to bee holden euery six weekes.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Mmm2 Rier countie..seemeth to come of the French... It appeareth to be some publique place, which the Shyreeue appointeth for the receipt of the kings money after the ende of his Countie.
1700 J. Tyrrell Gen. Hist. Eng. II. 776 At the next County (i.e. County-Court) which should be holden.
2.
a. Each of the territorial divisions of Great Britain and Ireland, forming the chief unit for administrative, judicial, and political purposes.The word county was gradually adopted in English as an alternative name for the shires of England (following similar use of Anglo-Norman counté and post-classical Latin comitatus: see note in etymology section), and was also applied to the similar divisions made in Wales and in Ireland, as well as to the shires of Scotland (cf. shire n. 3a), and eventually to other portions of the British Isles, such as the Duchy of Cornwall, Orkney and Shetland, etc.Home, Midland, Six, Twenty-six Counties: see the first element. county palatine: see palatine adj.1 1.Counties in Great Britain are either denominated by the suffixation of -shire or by a simple name, with the exception of County Durham. In Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland they are mainly denominated by the prefixation of County to the name.
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society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > administrative divisions in Britain > shire or county
shire?a1000
county?a1400
vice-county1859
shire county1972
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 309 (MED) The kyng..his messengere sent For þe bisshopes askis to com to þe parlement, For erles & barons at London suld it be, Four knyghtes be somons chosen in ilk counte.
1423–4 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1423 §9. m. 1 His lordship of Oghtryn in the countee of Kildare.
1482 in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 40 Dwellyng wtin the cunte of Cumbreland.
1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 24 §2 In all Shires, Counties, Counties Palantyne and other Places of this Realme.
1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 26 §2 The residue of the said Lordeshippes Marchars within the said Countrey or Dominion of Wales shall be severed and devyded into certayne particular Counties or Shires, that is to say, the Countie or Shire of Monmouth, etc.
1586 W. Warner Albions Eng. iii. xiiii. 56 The want-les Counties Essex, Kent, with which the wealthie Glayde Of Hertfordshire.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 57 I am Robart Shallowe, sir, a poore Esquier of this Countie, and one of the Kings iustices of the peace. View more context for this quotation
1655 O. Cromwell Commission 28 May in Coll. State Papers J. Thurloe (1742) III. 486 All the militia forces raised and to be raised within the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wilts, and Gloucester.
1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 120 Other four were sent as itinerant Preachers and Missioners into all the Counties of England.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. to Henry VII I. 64 He [sc. Alfred] divided all England into counties.
1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 408/1 The word shire is in most cases equivalent to county, a name often substituted for it in Great Britain, and always in Ireland.
1860 E. A. Freeman Hist. Ess. (1872) I. ii. 46 Of the Old-English kingdoms several still survive as counties.
1884 W. E. Gladstone in Standard 29 Feb. 2/4 The extension of the household franchise to the counties.
1935 R. A. Knox Barchester Pilgrimage ii. 51 He busied himself so much with the affairs of the county and of the parish that he never missed his old rounds.
1956 Irish Independent 31 Dec. 7/1 Military and police were alerted all over the county following the attack.
2008 J. Zemboy Detective Novels of Agatha Christie 9/1 The borders of the counties usually have more to do with historical events than administrative convenience.
b. An English, Welsh, or Irish city or town given the status and powers of a county, esp. the right to be governed by its own elected officers independent of those of the county in which it is situated. Also more fully county corporate (also corporate county). Now historical.The status of county was given at various times to a number of cities and towns in England and Ireland, with a certain portion of adjoining territory; these were separated from the county in which they were situated, and made counties in their own right. They were abolished in Ireland in 1899 and in England and Wales in 1974.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > [noun] > with adjoining territory
shire1433
county?1449
shire-borough1898
?1449 Petition in Rotuli Parl. (1767–77) V. 159/1 The said John Bury..shuld be oon of the Sargeauntes of oure said Soveraigne Lord atte Armes..takyng xii d. by the day, terme of his lyf, of the ferme of the Countees of London and Midd[lesex].
?a1500 in W. Hudson Rec. City of Norwich (1906) I. 125 Ȝe schall swere that ȝe schall well and truly seruyn owre lord the Kyng in the offys of Schrevehood in the Cite and the Counte of Norwych, suburbes, hamelettes, procintis, and Circuites of the same Cite and Counte.
1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII c. 13 The county of the City of Yorke..the county of the town of Kingston vpon Hull, The county Palatine of Lancaster, the county of Salop, Leicester, Hereford and Lincolne.
a1640 T. Risdon Chorogr. Surv. Devon (1811) (modernized text) 107 King Henry..did..make this city [sc. Exeter], with its suburbs, a County..by means whereof they have justices of the peace, a sheriff, constables, and all other officers that pertained to a county.
1672 T. Manley Νομοθετης: Cowell's Interpreter sig. T3 Besides these Counties..there be likewise Counties Corporate..these be certain Cities, or ancient Boroughs of the Land, upon which the Princes of our Nation have thought good to bestow such extraordinary Liberties.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 115 There are also counties corporate; which are certain cities and towns, some with more, some with less territory annexed to them.
1831 Morning Post 18 Aug. Canterbury, for instance, was a corporate county.
1837 Penny Cycl. VIII. 18/1 Cork, a city, the assize town of the county of Cork..situated in the county of the city of Cork..The county of the city consists of the city, suburbs, and liberties.
1859 Polit. Perils 26 There are in England nineteen Counties-Corporate, that is, cities, or boroughs which are counties of themselves.
1931 N.Y. Times 20 June 17/4 He had been a Justice of the Peace for the city and county of Newcastle for the last forty years and for the borough of Tynemouth five years longer.
1975 C. N. Packett County Lieutenancy United Kingdom 131 During the Commonwealth, the Assessment Acts treated some corporate counties, such as Poole and Lichfield, as separate counties.
2004 P. Webb in S. Whiteley et al. Music, Space & Place 70 Bristol is the largest city in the South West of England... Historically a county in its own right, it lies between Somerset and Gloucestershire.
c. = county borough n. (b) at Compounds 7. rare.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town > [noun] > borough
burrows-townc1175
mayor-town1375
boroughc1380
borough-town1382
burghc1425
corporate town1478
royal burgh1591
county borough1708
municipality1790
Royal Borough1805
county1888
1888 Local Govt. (Eng. & Wales) Bill v. 72 in Parl. Papers (Bill 338) IV. 155 In the county of London, the clerk of the peace may be a separate officer from the clerk of the county council.
1913 F. A. Ogg Govt. of Europe viii. 183 Yorkshire and Lincolnshire were divided into three of the new counties each.
3. With the.
a. The people of a county collectively; spec. the people of a county considered as a body of electors or ratepayers; the county authorities considered as the representative of the people.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > inhabitant according to environment > inhabitant of a district or parish > [noun] > collectively
shirea1122
parishc1300
sidec1325
commona1382
community1426
township1443
vicinage1647
county1651
countryside1669
sucken1872
1651 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 103. 1588 Several parties of the Enemies horse flying this way upon their defeat at Worcester, The County generally rise against them.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 33 The Counties throughout the Kingdom were so incensed..that they refused to suffer the Soldiers to be billeted upon them.
1770 W. Cole Let. 15 Nov. in H. Walpole Corr. (1937) I. 200 The county is now getting drunk in every quarter of it.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 529 The eastern counties were up.
1894 Memorial Rec. County of Cuyahoga 791/1 The county gave a Republican majority of 6,300, and elected General Noyes as Governor.
1964 Daily Rev. (Hayward, Calif.) 28 Feb. 11/3 A ‘respite’ program, in which the county would care temporarily for mentally retarded children.
1996 Argonaut 27 June 22 The county has approved $628,500 for a three-year study.
2012 Irish Independent (Nexis) 12 Nov. Last June, the county rejected the Fiscal Treaty and said No to both Lisbon treaties.
b. The gentry or aristocracy of a county collectively; the families of a county considered to be among the highest in status and wealth below the nobility. Also frequently with omission of the.Cf. the earlier attributive use of the noun at Compounds 6, and adjective at sense B.
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society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [noun] > noble family with country estates > collectively
county1886
1886 M. Oliphant Poor Gentleman xxxi, (Leisure Ho. 515) ‘I am sure’, said Mrs. Rochford, ‘the county will like far better to see you there than Mrs. Russell-Penton.’
1923 M. Arlen These Charming People 173 Young Thomas married county.
1926 J. Galsworthy Escape ii. vi ‘I should think he was County, wouldn't you?’..‘Um! Only “County” would drive such a shockin' bad car.’
1995 I. Colegate Winter Journey 16 Her daughter had been accepted back into the world she herself came from, had married into the county.
4. A territorial or political and administrative division outside Great Britain and Ireland, and based on the British model.
a. In the United States (or a colony or state in the territory now comprising the United States).All states of the Union are divided into counties except for Alaska, which is divided into boroughs, and Louisiana, which is divided into parishes. South Carolina was divided into districts prior to the Constitution of 1868.Counties in the United States are usually denominated with the word County as the second element, as Fresno County, Orange County, etc., usage thus differing from that in both Great Britain and Ireland.
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society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > in U.S.A.
hundred1621
town1631
squadron1636
county1662
precinct1713
parish1772
back county1775
district1792
metropolitan district1817
1662 R. G. Virginia's Cure 8 The onely way of remedy for Virginia's disease..must be by procuring Towns to be built, and inhabited in their several Counties.
1693 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) I. 67 Governr of Pensilvania and Countys annexed.
1760 Pennsylvania Gaz. 4 Dec. The other Tract situate in the County of Salem, near Prince Maurice's River, and near the Overgoing into the Brand Neck.
1765 T. Hutchinson Hist. Colony Massachusets-Bay, 1628–91 (ed. 2) i. 117 The colony..was divided..into four counties or shires.
1809 E. A. Kendall Trav. Northern Parts U.S. I. x. 113 The society, town and county, in these countries, are new modifications of the parish, hundred and shire.
1840 New-Yorker 6 Nov. 121/3 The following are the reported majorities in all the Counties.
1866 Rural Amer. (Utica, N.Y.) 15 Mar. 82/1 Vast quantities of milk are daily transported by the cars, from Orange county to New York city.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. xlviii. 230 The county..is still in the main a judicial district in and for which civil and criminal courts are held.
1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 38/2 He carried those twenty-three counties by sixty-five thousand, while the same counties went for Wilson and the Democratic ticket generally.
1958 Rotarian Feb. 41/2 Perhaps its chief value to the non-Texan will be in..its detailed treatment, with many small road maps, of all the counties and cities of the State.
1978 Black Enterprise July 13/2 During the late 1940s, when Madison County, Alabama, was primarily a farming region, [etc.].
2010 J. Farrell Just Enough Programming: Logic & Design iv. 140 The governor wants a report that lists each county and the number of years it will take for the population of the county to double.
b. In a (former) British colony (other than one of those that comprise the present-day United States).
ΚΠ
1759 London Chron. 4 Jan. 22/3 This week, the governor, council, and assembly of this island, passed an act for dividing the island of Jamaica into three counties.
1820 C. Jeffreys Van Dieman's Land 49 Van Dieman's Land is divided into two counties, Buckingham and Cornwall.
1836 Penny Cycl. VI. 217/1 These districts [sc. Lower Canada] are sub-divided as under: Counties, Seigniories, Fiefs, Townships.
1851 H. R. Russell Short Descr. Austral. Colonies 3 The settled districts of New South Wales Proper are divided into 21 counties.
1876 Counties Act 40 Vict. s6 Until as otherwise provided, there shall be within New Zealand the several counties having the names and boundaries set forth in the first schedule.
1936 Gazette (Rivers, Manitoba) 4 June Sharply declining death rates for 39 counties of Quebec..demonstrate the effectiveness of the county unit system.
1965 E. H. Brookes & C. De B. Webb Hist. Natal (1979) 121 The annexation of Nomansland (named Alfred County) in 1866 might..have been treated as almost a matter of routine.
1996 J. Boston et al. Public Managem.: NZ Model 184 Local government now consists of regional councils and city and district councils (replacing boroughs and counties).
2011 Kenya National Assembly Official Rec. 16 Feb. 14 It is already proposed that all the existing provincial schools in each county be promoted to national schools.
5. Chiefly British. A sports team representing a particular county.Originally and chiefly with reference to cricket; cf. county cricket n. at Compounds 7.
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society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > team or group > types of
twelve1573
county1729
colt1789
in1825
Big-side1845
offence1884
all-American1888
farm1896
farm club1896
farm team1896
dream team1911
skin1930
A-team1976
1729 London Evening-post 19–21 June 1/2 On Tuesday next at Walworth Common will be play'd a Match at Cricket between the Counties of Kent and Sussex.
1815 Morning Post 28 Aug. The Grand Cricket Match in Lord's Ground, between the Epsom Club with Mann, against the County of Middlesex with Robinson, was decided on Friday in favour of Epsom.
1885 Liverpool Daily Post 1 June 5/4 The county suffered a ‘one innings’ thrashing [at cricket] at the hands of their antagonists.
1938 Manch. Guardian 16 June 4/1 Leyland came to the rescue of Yorkshire after that county had lost four wickets.
1975 Irish Times 24 May 3/1 Their right-half forward, Francis Loughnane, a man who..has won many games for the county.
1992 Bowlers' World Dec. 4/2 Sigsworth, who made his debut for the county this summer,..turned the game upside down with a punishing run in the corners.
2008 W. Buckland Pommies i. 6 So far, I have played about 750 games of recreational cricket, although I never played for a county.
II. A territorial division of another country.† 7. Roman History. A provincial judicial assembly; (hence) a division of a province for the purpose of the administration of justice. Obsolete. rare.
6. The domain or territory of a count. Now historical.Chiefly, and now only, used with reference to the territory of a French or other continental European count.figurative in quot. c1400.
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society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > jurisdiction or territory of specific rulers or nobles > [noun] > of count
countyc1400
countship1831
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. ii. l. 85 Þe Erldome of enuye and Wratthe togideres..Þe counte [Trin. Cambr. countee; A text kingdom] of coueitise and alle þe costes aboute.
1439 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1835) V. 359 (MED) The duchie of Guyenne, the conte of Poetowe.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1879) VII. 189 (MED) The cowntes of Godewynus were ȝiffen to Harald, and the cowntee [a1387 J. Trevisa tr. erldome; L. comitatus] of Harald was ȝiffen to Algarus, sonne of Leofricus the erle.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. f. c.ix/2 The kyng of England had the possession and sesenynge of the duchie of Aquitayne & of the countie of Ponthieu.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 209/2 Countie, an erledome, conté.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Droicts Royaux, the Royall Prerogatiue..to create of a Chastellenie, a Baronie, or Countie; and of this a Marquisdome, or Duchie.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) i. i. 49 The Dutchy of Aniou, and the County of Main. View more context for this quotation
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 399 When he began to prosecute his Victory into the Bounds of the County, or Earldom, the Switzers interceded him to respite his Fury.
1753 Universal Mag. Feb. 67/1 The Duke of Bavaria was to keep the Duchy of Luxembourg and County of Namur, till he and his brother were established in their Electorates.
1762 P. Murdoch tr. A. F. Büsching New Syst. Geogr. IV. 492 He bequeathed..the county of Pyrmont to his cousins the Counts Christian and Wolrad of Waldeck, his stipulatory successors and cousins.
1836 Penny Cycl. V. 272/1 Boulogne had..been erected into a county.
1942 C. Stephenson Mediaeval Feudalism iv. 59 The old march of Gothia was called the county of Toulouse after it had been acquired by the count of that city.
2007 J. Bradbury Capetians iii. 60 Duke Garcia Sanchez divided his duchy into counties for his three sons.
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society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > in ancient Greece or Rome
county1601
borougha1747
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > types of deliberative or legislative assembly > [noun] > in ancient Rome
comices1533
comitial1566
county1601
comitia1740
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. iii. i. 52 Within the countie [L. conventus] or iurisdiction of Corduba.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. iv. xxii. 88 The whole prouince [of Spain] is diuided into three counties [L. in conventus tris] or iudiciall courts of Assises.
B. adj.
That has the social status or characteristics of a county family (see sense A. 3b, Compounds 6).
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society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > gentry > [adjective] > belonging to gentry > characteristic of county gentry
county1918
tweedy1923
1918 G. Frankau One of Them xxii. 170 For who, midst all these spongers on his bounty, Save only Jill, is absolutely ‘county’?
1921 M. Arlen Romantic Lady 8 But perhaps you would prefer me to be haughty..or how do you say it—county?
1937 C. Isherwood Sally Bowles 30 Mummy's bringing her up to be very county.
1963 J. T. Story Something for Nothing ii. 43 High, loud, county voices.
2008 C. Plummer In Spite of Myself xxxiv. 516 An attractive young lady with a rather county manner came up to me.
Compounds
C1. attributive, with the sense ‘concerned in the administration of the affairs of a county; having authority, jurisdiction, or an official role in a county’, as county lieutenant, county magistrate, county sheriff, etc.
ΚΠ
1319–20 Patent Roll, 13 Edward II (P.R.O.: C 66/152) m. 38v Nicholaus le Countereue.
1656 W. Sheppard (title) Survey of the County Judicatories.
1716 J. Winthrop Let. 21 Aug. in Winthrop Papers (1892) V. 324 I am notify'd by the County Sheriff..to answer before you to a very wrong complaint.
1761 H. Williams Memorial to Ld. Mayor in J. Entick New Hist. London (1766) IV. 372 The licencing public-houses by the county magistrates.
1780 T. Jefferson Let. 25 Dec. in Papers (1951) IV. 236 The County Lieutenants of Fayette Lincoln and Jefferson are ordered to rendezvous at the falls of the Ohio.
1795 M. Concanen & A. Morgan Hist. & Antiq. Parish St. Saviour's, Southwark 26 The compelling the inhabitants of the borough..to pay the county coroner.
1805 R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. II. 265 The county hangman goes through the market, every market-day, with a brass ladle.
1853 Acts & Resolves 32nd Legislature State of Maine 24 The governor shall..appoint one county moose warden for each of the counties.
1886 A. H. Buck Ref. Handbk. Med. Sci. II. 304/1 In Mississippi the coroner is also the county ranger, and performs the duties of that office.
1907 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 1 551 In colonial times..county officials were often chosen year after year for a lifetime.
1938 M. Mitchell Let. 4 Sept. in Gone with the Wind Lett. (1986) 223 County agents were around preaching diversified crops.
1966 National Observer (U.S.) 19 Dec. 12/2 Democratic county chairmen hereabouts have..worked out a terrific combination of railroading, arm twisting, and snow jobbing.
1989 T. Parker Place called Bird ii. 13 The County Attorney is a Republican, but that makes no difference to us working together.
2008 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 2 Jan. 9 In a single month this autumn, the county recorder..was handed 1,200 documents for recording.
C2.
a. attributive. Designating a resource or service intended for the use of the whole county and administered by the county authorities, as county archive, county police, county workhouse, etc.Some of the more established compounds of this type are treated separately.
ΚΠ
1672 P. Leycester Some Antiq. Cheshire iv, in Hist. Antiq. (1673) 252 A Foot-Bridge at Acton..is now made a County-Bridge.
1764 R. Burn Hist. Poor Laws 226 The objections against county workhouses..seem to require peculiar attention. There is something of unwieldiness in the prospect.
1787 ‘Belvidera’ Abridgem. Plan for Poor of Eng. 37 A patent, as acting superintendent to an establishment for (the reception of the poor) incorporated parishes, and one county establishment annexed to it.
1868 H. Lonsdale Sir J. R. G. Graham vi. 80 The writer is but using the prevalent language of the time in speaking of rats and terriers in the county granary.
1874 J. Morley On Compromise 39 [They] would maintain churches on the same principle on which they maintain the county constabulary.
1883 J. F. Stephen Hist. Criminal Law I. vii. 200 In 1856, after an experience of 17 years..an Act..made compulsory the establishment of county police in all parts of England.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. xlix. 257 There are in some States county high schools and (in most) county boards of education.
1938 Amer. Archivist 1 98 Differing considerably from most county archive inventories..is the inventory of the records of the municipality of Brazoria, Texas.
1977 Ann. Internal Med. 86 715/1 Three of four water samples sent to the county health department..for routine bacterologic analysis had been found to have coliform contamination.
1998 This Caring Business Feb. 2/3 Meanwhile a sensitive fire detector system has gone off again with this false alarm resulting in a bill from the County Fire Department.
b.
county bridge n.
ΚΠ
1672County bridge [see Compounds 2a].
1809 T. E. Tomlins Jacob's Law-dict. at Bridge Quarter sessions may..alter the situation of county bridges.
2006 J. Miles Weird Georgia 111/1 A short distance away was a county bridge.
county fair n.
ΚΠ
1772 Westm. Jrnl. 4 Apr. 2/3 Rent a quantity of land within 20 miles of London, buy a number of yearlings at the county fairs..and put them to graze.
1878 S. J. Clarke Hist. McDonough County, Illinois xxxiv. 514 For the promotion of agricultural and mechanical arts, he has always advocated and worked to sustain a high reputation for our county fairs.
2011 Shellbrook (Sask.) Chron. 17 June 2/4 I've been to other neighbourhood, or street sales, but that one has got to be the biggest happening ever. It had the feeling of a county fair.
county hospital n.
ΚΠ
1735 Daily Jrnl. 30 Dec. Let such as..become Aged, Blind, or any ways past their Labour, be sent to the County Hospitals.
1896 ‘M. Rutherford’ Clara Hopgood vi. 66 There was to be a grand entertainment..in aid of the County Hospital.
2013 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 5 Jan. b8 He awarded contracts for the county hospital and airport parking garages to the husband of the county's district attorney.
county road n.
ΚΠ
1761 Answers for James Earl of Moray 14 At Kinghorn, the hires of both horses and carriages are earned by their services on the high-ways and county-roads.
1837 Belfast News-let. 7 Nov. If the penal conservation of county roads were entirely committed to the police, and the direction and construction to the Board of Works, the public might derive much benefit.
1917 Crisis Jan. 122/2 They took him to the county roads as a county convict under the laws of this State to do hard labor.
2013 Jamestown (N. Dakota) Sun (Nexis) 7 Jan. The county is considering changing the load limits on county roads to more closely reflect the regulations on state and federal roads.
county school n.
ΚΠ
1710 J. Urmston New Help to Accidence Pref. p. v A County School would be best fixed in the Center thereof, consisting of Six Publick Rooms, capable of receiving forty or fifty Boys each.
1812 Niles' Reg. 1 361/2 The legislature..appropriated..25,000 per annum for the supporting of county schools.
1944 Act 7 & 8 Geo. VI c. 31 §17 The instrument of management or the instrument of government, as the case may be, shall be in the case of a county school by an order of the local education authority.
1998 Educ. Rev. 12 ii. 52/2 Most, if not all, county schools will become community schools but they will not be community schools as we know them.
C3. attributive, with the sense ‘of a (or the) county; belonging or relating to a county’, as county bank, county map, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [adjective] > relating to a county
county1677
countywide1857
1677 Bp. G. Burnet Mem. Dukes of Hamilton vi. 362 Middleton rode in the Rear, for making it good against some Troops of the County-Militia.
a1726 G. Gilbert Treat. Court of Exchequer (1758) x. 149 The Sheriff pays in Proffers to the Value of the County Rents.
1733 London Evening Post 10 May The County Maps of Hertfordshire and Middlesex.
1788 (title) County Management, with an Argument in favour of Pocket Sheriffs.
1792 J. Budworth Fortnight's Ramble Lakes x. 63 A rich painted window full of scriptural and historical allusions, with patchings of armorials of the county gentry.
1830 M. R. Mitford Our Village IV. 241 The proprietor of the county newspaper, who keeps the advertisement of this matchless villa constantly set.
a1862 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. (1869) III. iii. 181 In 1749 there was established, at Aberdeen, the first county bank ever seen in Scotland.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 11 The Ordnance Survey issues county maps on a scale of six inches to a mile.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. xlviii. 225 The County system of the South and the Town system of the North-east.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 4 Apr. 4/1 There are fifteen towns and cities which at present enjoy the county status, from which it is to be taken by Mr. Ritchie's bills.
1953 Billboard 11 July 54/4 The fair will be held as a homecoming event for former county residents.
1989 A. Aird 1990 Good Pub Guide 505 The pub itself is virtually smack on the county boundary.
2003 B. Burnes Harry S. Truman v. 91/1 Only through continual maintenance could some county roads remain passable in poor weather.
C4. Chiefly British. attributive, with the sense ‘of or relating to a county as a parliamentary constituency’, as county constituency, county election, county franchise, county member, etc. Now historical.A county constituency was formerly distinct from a borough in having major differences in the qualifications of electors and representatives. The Representation of the People Act (1884) provided for uniformity in the borough and county franchise.
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1679 Answer Burgesses & Inhabitants Buckingham 1 A most false and scandalous Pamphlet..notoriously known to thousands that were present at the County Election.
1702 W. Kennett Case Præmunientes Considered 15/1 The Incumbents of Parochial Churches (as such) did vote only for the Diocesan Proctors, not for the County Members.
1739 in Coll. Parl. Deb. Eng. (1741) XVIII. 380 Our ministers might..have endeavoured to recommend themselves to our county electors.
1786 Morning Chron. 30 June The whole plan must be changed—that was the object of this excellent Bill, and it was proposed to be done by a register of county votes.
1792 B. Flower French Constit. ii. 181 A freehold estate of forty shillings a year, is the qualification necessary for a county voter.
1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 409/1 (House of Commons), England and Wales: The number of county constituencies before the Reform Act was 52.
1859 Harper's Mag. May 836/1 He set forth the wrong which the Bill would inflict upon county freeholders.
1868 G. O. Trevelyan in Daily News (1884) 10 Dec. 3/3 As regards the County Franchise, I am clearly of opinion that it should be identified with the Borough Franchise.
1883 W. E. Gladstone Let. 10 Dec. in Polit. Corr. Gladstone & Granville 1876–1886 (1962) II. 123 I think the votes he had given in favour of enlarging the County Suffrage justified me in an opposite conclusion.
1927 Polit. Sci. Q. 42 75 Morley states that..approximately 40,000 persons in the kingdom had followed Cobden's urging to qualify as county voters.
1978 J. Ramsden Age of Balfour & Baldwin (BNC) 65 Long was supported by the bulk of the English county members but by few of the party's men of talent.
1997 G. Segell Electronic Democracy ii. 54 By 1430 the first property restriction was introduced on the county franchise.
2010 I. St John Disraeli & Art of Victorian Politics ii. 58 It was believed that these extra county voters..would vote Conservative.
C5. Chiefly British. attributive, with the sense ‘of or relating to county level sport’, as county championship, county cricketer, county team, etc.Chiefly with reference to cricket; cf. county cricket n. at Compounds 7.
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1791 Public Advertiser 22 June It will appear laughable enough in the annals of cricket, and we presume not much to the credit of the county players.
1835 Brighton Patriot 1 Sept. The nonpareil bowler, who has added to the laurels of the County cricketers so often, was, upon this occasion, the unlucky instrument of those laurels being plucked from their brows.
1882 Morning Post 22 Aug. 3/5 If his delivery is not fair he should not be allowed to help Lancashire to win the county championship.
1911 P. F. Warner Bk. of Cricket ii. 55 It is impossible to go in first and not meet with a ‘swerver’; for every county team possesses one.
1954 Manch. Guardian 7 Oct. 10/6 The county team beat The Rest by three goals, one penalty goal, and five tries.
2009 M. Hoggard Hoggy (2010) 131 The ECB have been trying to make sure that county cricketers are in better shape.
C6. attributive, with the sense ‘of or belonging to the gentry or aristocracy of a county’, as county family, county set, etc. Cf. sense B.
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society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [noun] > noble family with country estates
county1812
1812 Scourge Jan. 54 No erection could be of more service to Newcastle, as by becoming the focus of intercourse to the county families, they [sc. the assembly rooms] were the occasion of a large expenditure.
1832 Day 23 Jan. 74/2 ‘She only patronizes county people.’ ‘Indeed!..and, by-the bye, aren't the merchants quite genteel in Glasgow?’
1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. i. 338 She is always trying to be with the great people, the county set.
1924 T. Burke Wind & Rain (1927) iii. 62 It was conducted by three elderly gentlemen of the ‘county’ sort.
1998 S. Gilmartin Ancestry & Narr. in Nineteenth-cent. Brit. Lit. iv. 138 His chivalrous manners and fine figure made him very popular with the county wives.
2006 A. Thorpe Is this Way you Said? (2007) 74 Tall county types in flowery dresses.
C7. † county crop n. British and Irish English slang. Obsolete a haircut of the sort given to prisoners in county jails, in which the hair is cropped short all round the head.† county-cropped adj. British and Irish English slang. Obsolete having a haircut of the sort given to prisoners in county jails, in which the hair is cropped short all round the head; see county crop n.
county alderman n. a person (formerly usually a man) who serves as an alderman on a county council or other county-level administrative body.
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1843 North Amer. & Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia) 17 Nov. Yesterday one of the county Aldermen, who was not aware of the order, infringed it.
1888 Local Govt. (Eng. & Wales) Bill ii. 33 in Parl. Papers (Bill 338) IV. 155 The number of county aldermen in the county of London, shall not exceed one-sixth of the whole number of county councillors.
2010 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 6 May 28 Ida's letters regarding her work in Hampshire as the first woman county alderman fed into Chamberlain's work as Minister of Health.
county asylum n. now historical an institution maintained by the county authorities for the care of the destitute, esp. those who are mentally ill.
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1816 Monthly Mag. Mar. 125/2 The advocates for county asylums tell us of classification, and of keeping those afflicted with different kinds of mental diseases entirely apart.
1906 Paupers in Almshouses 1904 (U.S. Bureau of Census) 47/1 The county commissioners are responsible for the management of the county asylum and appoint its superintendent.
2001 L. Mitton Victorian Hosp. 26 It was not until the 1830s that attempts were made to reform to the county asylums, the lead coming from Hanwell Asylum in London.
county ball n. (formerly) a subscription ball held in the county town and attended by the county gentry; (now) a ball held for young farmers in a county.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > ball or dance > [noun] > other balls or dances
carolc1300
buttock-ball1698
redoubt1698
ridotto1708
race ball1770
county ball1771
dress ball?1772
promenade1778
waltz1802
hunt ball1807
dignity ball1834
ball-royala1843
polkery1845
jigging-party1872
prom1879
Cinderella dance1883
dinner dance1887
white ball1891
cotillion1898
taxi dance1910
Stampede Dance1950
go-go1965
1771 Jessy I. xi. 119 Last monday he proposed our going to our county ball.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 20 From Lodge, and Court, and House, and Hall, Are hurrying to the County Ball.
2010 Derby Evening Tel. (Nexis) 15 Sept. 27 The County Ball is at Derby Assembly Rooms on Saturday, November 27, with guests Dave and Dom of the Radio 1 Breakfast show.
county borough n. †(a) = county town n. (obsolete); (b) a large borough ranking as a county for administrative purposes.Under the Local Government Act 1888, boroughs of above 50,000 inhabitants in England and Wales were given the status of county, and became administratively, but not politically or judicially, independent of the counties in which they were situated. County boroughs were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972, but reintroduced in Wales in 1994.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town > [noun] > borough
burrows-townc1175
mayor-town1375
boroughc1380
borough-town1382
burghc1425
corporate town1478
royal burgh1591
county borough1708
municipality1790
Royal Borough1805
county1888
1708 Act 6 Anne 114 (heading) For the county-borough of Carmarthen.
1790 Whitehall Evening-post 26–29 June The riots so usual at contested elections have been uncommonly violent in many of the county boroughs on the late dissolution of Parliament.
1888 Local Govt. (Eng. & Wales) Bill ii. 22 in Parl. Papers (Bill 338) IV. 155 Each of the boroughs named in the Third Schedule to this Act being a borough which on the first day of June one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight, either had a population of not less than fifty thousand..shall, from..the appointed day, be for the purposes of this Act a county of itself, and is in this Act referred to as a county borough.
1948 Geogr. Jrnl. 111 174 About half the county boroughs are in the seven great industrial areas, London, South and East Lancashire, the West Riding, [etc.].
1994 T. Byrne Local Govt. in Brit. (ed. 6) iii. 49 Under this Act [sc. Local Government Act 1972] (operative from April 1974) the eighty-two county boroughs were abolished outright.
2013 South Wales Argus (Nexis) 8 Jan. Unwanted items can be left at collection points across the county borough until January 18.
county clerk n. chiefly U.S. a person who carries out certain administrative duties for a county; (now) spec. an elected county official who is responsible for local elections and maintaining public records.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > clerk or secretary
scribea1382
secretary14..
secretara1525
clerk1526
county clerk1618
mutsuddy1683
1618 J. Wilkinson Treat. Statutes conc. Coroners & Sherifes ii. f. 5v The new Sheriffe..must read his patent & his writ of Assistance, & nominat his Undershirife, the County Clerke, & foure deputies of Replevins.
1692 Watertown (Mass.) Rec. (1900) II. 51 The Rates..wear vpon fille in the countie clarks hand.
1773 C. Carroll Let. 29 Oct. in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1920) 15 285 How unqualified are most of our County Clerks.
1879 F. R. Stockton Rudder Grange xviii. 225 He's a-goin to bring the county clerk up here to-morrow.
1998 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 16 May a8/1 The bad old days in the county clerk's office—when it was a patronage operation and customers waited hours for service.
county clerkship n. U.S. the office or position of county clerk.
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1773 C. Carroll Let. 29 Oct. in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1920) 15 285 The County Clerkships in Virginia are filled by young Gentn who Serve an Apprenticeship in the Secretaries Office.
1876 National Q. Rev. Mar. 340 Mr. Conner commenced his ‘campaign’ for the sheriffalty with the same tactics which he opened that for the county clerkship.
2012 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 21 Sept. (Late ed.) nj2 Only one county office, Kathleen A. Donovan's county clerkship, is held by a Republican.
county college n. British Education (now historical) a college of further education for people under the age of 18 who are not otherwise employed or in education.Although provided for in the Education Act 1944 (see quot. 1944), county colleges were never actually established.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > college or university > [noun] > college > community college
community college1922
village college1924
county college1944
1944 Act 7 & 8 Geo. VI c. 31 §43 (1) It shall be the duty of every local education authority to establish and maintain county colleges, that is to say, centres approved by the Minister for providing for young persons..such further education..as will enable them to develop their various aptitudes.
1963 H. C. Barnard & J. A. Lauwerys Handbk. Brit. Educ. Terms 71 County college, a centre which, according to the 1944 Education Act, would provide for young persons under 18..such further education..as will..prepare them for the responsibilities of citizenship. County colleges have not yet (1963) been established.
2011 J. Bates et al. Educ. Policy ii. 33 Two parts were never enacted: the provision of nursery education (again!) and compulsory part-time education in county colleges for young people to the age of 18.
county cricket n. British Cricket first-class cricket played in England and Wales between the eighteen professional teams contesting the County Championship.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > [noun] > forms of cricket
single-wicket1735
single-hand cricket1761
double wicket1778
county cricket1855
snob1888
stump cricket1888
tip-and-run1891
stump1903
French cricket1907
Twenty202002
1855 Bell's Life in London 23 Dec. 6/3 County cricket cannot prosper without a general interest being taken.
1928 Evening News 18 Aug. 10/5 The dreariness of play..is forced on the game by the present bye-laws of county cricket.
2001 J. Williams Cricket & Race ii. 33 Very few who were not white played county cricket between the wars.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > cut or cropped
roundinga1582
stumps1584
stubs1607
trim1608
tonsure1650
committee cut1691
rasure1737
crop1795
county crop1839
flat-top1859
prison cropc1863
clip1889
Dartmoor crop1930
razor cut1940
prison haircut1948
scissor cut1948
cut1951
pudding basin1951
short back and sides1965
1839 Standard 29 July We shall have a county crop and wash together.
1853 Punch 24 147 My reward is the County crop and the treadmill.
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down (at cited word) ‘You've got the county-crop’: said in ridicule.
1898 Bury & Norwich Post 25 Jan. 4/3 The prisoner's hair is cut so close that he presented the appearance of having undergone what is vulgarly called ‘the county crop’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > people with styles of hair > [adjective] > cut or shaved
nottOE
shavenc1330
rounded?a1439
clipped1483
poll-shorn1556
notched1597
nott-pated1598
well-shaved1600
shaveling1607
nott-headed1612
cropped-eared1641
round-headed1641
polled1653
crop-eared1680
lop-eared1798
shaved1837
crop-headed1842
county-cropped1849
cropped1856
colled1877
crop-haired1879
prison-cropped1882
bob-haired1923
bobbed-haired1928
bobbed-hair1953
slap-headed1994
1849 Leicester Chron. 27 Jan. When we asked him to give a good account of himself, he scratched his county cropped cranium.
1862 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 22 Feb. This person..is described in some of the newspapers as ‘blind in one eye, pock-pitted and county cropped’.
1867 J. Greenwood Unsentimental Journeys xxv. 199 A slangy, low-browed, bull-necked, county-cropped..crew.
county day n. now historical a day on which the county court sits; see county court n. 1a.
ΚΠ
1534 G. Ferrers tr. Bk. Magna Carta f. 35v He that wyll appealle shall not by reason of this intermytte or leue to comence his appeall at the nexte countye day.
1627 Sir R. Cotton in J. Rushworth Hist. Coll. (1659) 470 That a care be had that there may be a County-day after the Sheriff hath received the Writ, before the time of sitting.
1720 T. Wentworth Let. 28 Nov. (1739) I. 9 I had the Opinion of two Judges (accordant with the Judgment of some others) that the County Day can neither be adjourned nor continued.
1983 Eng. Hist. Rev. 88 375/1 Seven appendixes, comprising tables (of county days, venues, pleadable writs, and fine roll statistics).
county farm n. †(a) a large, publicly-funded farm established by the county authorities (obsolete rare); (b) U.S. = poor farm n. at poor adj. and n.1 Compounds 2b (now historical).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > [noun] > other farms
home farm1749
city farm1750
county farm1785
factory farm1824
bird farm1842
provision farm1846
spade-farm1848
bush-farm1851
poor farm1852
sewage farm1870
cacao farm1871
mixed farm1872
vertical farm1897
prison farm1961
nuplex1968
1785 A. Young Ann. Agric. 111 The best cultivated counties would even be benefited, were county-farms established on a great scale, and each county to support its respective establishment.
1855 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Daily Sentinel 28 Sept. A majority of the Grand Jurors proceeded to the County Farm, (so called) where a portion of the County paupers are kept.
1935 A. G. Kennedy Current Eng. xiii. 548 The poorhouse has become the county farm.
2003 New Yorker 15 Sept. 52/2 The poorhouses, county farms, veterans's homes, and pogeys that constituted the social safety net in those days.
county hall n. a building where county administration takes place or (formerly) where the county quarter sessions, assizes, etc., are held; cf. town hall n.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > judicial body, assembly, or court > place where court is held > [noun] > courthouse
doom-housec1000
speech-housec1050
tolsel1373
porcha1382
pleading house1440
courthouse1483
plead housec1485
pleading place1565
law-housea1610
county hall1670
judiciary1681
Palais de Justice1792
plea-house1818
doom-hall1870
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > local government body > [noun] > local government offices > county hall
county hall1670
shire-house1759
shire-hall1796
1670 State of Case betwixt Sacheverel & Vernon (single sheet) The High Sheriff went to the County Hall.
1797 Monthly Mag. Oct. 319/1 The county hall, now building at Chester, promises to be one of the finest edifices of the kind in the kingdom.
1889 Whitaker's Almanack 582 Shire and county halls, assize courts, judges' lodgings, and other official buildings.
2012 Hull Daily Mail (Nexis) 12 Dec. 11 A draft version of the plan was approved yesterday by cabinet councillors at County Hall.
county house n. U.S. (now historical) a poorhouse maintained by the county authorities; cf. townhouse n. 1b.
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1705 Act 3 Anne in Acts Assembly N.-Y. (1726) 59 In the said County of Richmond a County Goal and County House.
1888 Philadelphia Press 29 Jan. (Farmer) An exceedingly singular character has just died in the Hillsdale county house.
2002 P. Ibbotson Eloise: Poorhouse, Farm, Asylum & Hosp. (2004) v. 101 She was classified as simple minded and remained at the County House until her death in 1895.
county judge n. now chiefly U.S. a judge serving in a particular county; spec. the senior judicial (or, in some counties of the United States, administrative) officer in a county.
ΚΠ
1649 J. Freize Second Why Not (single sheet) King Alfred..hanged up 45 County Iudges in one yeere, for taking Bribes.
a1722 J. Toland Coll. Several Pieces (1726) I. 194 There came with the King his chief Judge, and called to him his Egnat Komot, or County-Judge.
1838 Jrnl. Senate N.-Y. (61st Session) 22 In most of the counties of the State there is no adequate inducement for professional gentlemen of competent ability, to take the office of county judge.
1944 Greeley (Colorado) Daily Tribune 16 Sept. 2/2 I greatly appreciate the good will expressed and effort expended by the friends who wrote in my name as candidate for County Judge on the Republican primary ballot.
2000 N.Y. Times 9 Nov. b7/1 In DeLand, in central Florida, a county judge sealed the election headquarters with police tape.
county line n. chiefly U.S. the border of a county.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [noun] > border district(s) > border(s)
frontier1413
limitationa1475
skirt1488
limity1523
rind1530
border1535
ambit1597
verges1680
county line1776
land-board1790
1776 Remembrancer 3 279/2 Roads from Reading to Easton. To Parvin's 6. D. Levan's 12. County Line 4. Traxler's 4.
1814 J. Brevard Alphabetical Digest Public Statute Law S.-Carolina I. 254 One other county beginning at the corner of Clarendon county line at Person's island, thence up the Congaree river to the mouth of Cedar creek..and shall be called Richland county.
1882 J. P. Munro-Fraser Hist. Contra Costa County, Calif. 40 The most important of these small valleys is San Ramon, extending from Walnut Creek Valley south, to the Alameda county line.
2001 N.Y. Times 1 July i. 14/1 Across the county line, in the District of Columbia, the census shift is prompting concern.
county library n. a public library run by the county authorities.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > library or collection of books > library, place, or institution > [noun] > other types
public library1597
lending library1708
travelling library?1727
book society1739
book club1740
circulating library1742
free library1746
county library1748
library of reference1809
reference library1821
prison library1847
branch library1862
copyright library1898
bookmobile1924
1748 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 131/1 It would be greater charity to erect county libraries of the laws of the kingdom.
1844 Indiana Senate Jrnl. 271 The boards of county commissioners..may..dispose of..all such books, belonging to any county library, as are now..worthless.
1927 Public Libr. Comm. Rep. Pub. Libr. (Cmd. 2868) 220 In County libraries the books are distributed from a central depository to local centres over a wide area.
2012 Evening News (Edinb.) (Nexis) 28 Aug. 19 A full programme is available at county libraries and museums.
county match n. British Cricket a match played between representatives of two counties; (now) spec. a match played between two of the eighteen counties in the County Championship (cf. county cricket n.).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > [noun] > cricket-match > types of match
county match1748
test match1857
bowler's (or bowlers') match1863
goose match1885
cricket test1907
test1908
runathon1932
one-dayer1985
1748 London Evening-Post 26 May The Noblemen and Gentlemens Subscription County Match, Kent against England, will be play'd..on Friday the 10th of June.
1873 Baily's Mag. June 356 Secretaries of county clubs know very well that a county match played at Lord's..would not bring a penny of additional subscription to their funds.
1966 B. Johnston Armchair Cricket 46 In County Matches only one commentator is normally employed.
2006 Esquire Sept. 59/1 He admitted roughing up one side of a ball with a bottle top in a county match.
county meeting n. now chiefly historical a meeting of residents of a county, called by the High Sheriff, and held to be representative of the whole county.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > types of deliberative or legislative assembly > [noun] > meeting of a town, parish, ward, or county
wardmote1377
town meeting1636
parrock1660
parish meeting1665
county meeting1679
1679 T. Hobbes Behemoth (unauthorized ed.) 160 Every County meeting in their County Court..should have chosen certain men to carry their several sums respectively to the Parliament.
1797 J. Pearson (title) The Rights of Inhabitants at large to attend County Meetings asserted.
1817 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 15 Feb. 208 Saying that the meeting was not a County Meeting, because it was not called by the Sheriff!
1990 Daily Tel. 30 Mar. 13/4 The right to hold a ‘county meeting’, which has not been exercised for more than a century, will be invoked by the Green party to challenge the poll tax.
county rate n. now historical a general tax levied upon a whole county, for the maintenance of bridges, roads, asylums, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > local or municipal taxes or dues > [noun] > rates
cess1531
rate1601
county rate1665
rating1859
borough-rate1863
1665 in Rep. Rec. Commissioners Boston (1880) IV. 129 The Cuntry and County Rate for this yeare is..80.
1739 Act 12 Geo. II (title page) An act for the more easy assessing, collecting, and levying of county rates.
1808 ‘P. Plymley’ Eighth, Ninth & Last Let. ix. 21 They [sc. the grand juries in Ireland] have a power of making a county-rate..for roads, bridges, and other objects of general accommodation.
1988 Hist. Jrnl. 31 555 Even men who owned very little property were made to contribute to the county rates.
county seat n. U.S. the city or town in which the administrative centre of a county is based.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > [noun] > chief town or capital city
headeOE
mother-boroughc1225
master-borougha1325
sedea1387
chief1393
master-townc1400
metropolitan?a1439
capital city1439
master citya1450
stade1481
metropolea1500
capital1525
seatc1540
head-place1546
chamber1555
mother city1570
metropolis1584
metropolite1591
madam-town1593
capital town1601
seat-town1601
metropolie1633
megapolis1638
county seat1803
Queen City1807
metrop1888
Metroland1951
1803 in B. H. Young Hist. Jessamine County, Kentucky (1898) 84 We have succeeded..in locating our county seat.
1908 W. C. Allen (title) Centennial of Haywood County and its county seat, Waynesville, N.C.
2001 N.Y. Times 2 Aug. b6/2 The village remained the county seat, but the downtown became a lonely, 9-to-5 place.
county sessions n. now historical the quarter sessions for a county.Quarter sessions were abolished in England on 1 January 1972 by the Courts Act 1971, and their functions are now exercised by the Crown Courts created by that Act.
ΚΠ
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 517. ¶1 The old Man caught a Cold at the County Sessions.
1890 Proc. Old Bailey 3 Feb. 328 I was tried, with Brooks, Brady, and Whaley, at the County Sessions—I was not represented; I had no money.
1999 Albion 31 276 Social regulation exercised through church courts, county sessions, and manorial leets was a marked feature of many English communities.
county stock n. now historical the fund out of which county expenses are paid.
ΚΠ
1636 Briefe Declar. Private Dwelling Houses 31 The taxe for the County stocke, Gaole, and house of correction.
1762 London Mag. May 309/1 Any additional expences incurred, shall be repaid out of the county Stock.
1872 Cheshire Observer (Chester) 13 Apr. 7/2 That..the sum of £3 be annually allowed out of the county stock for rent.
2003 C. A. Spinage Cattle Plague vii. 127 The authorities agreed to pay farmers from local funds and reimburse the county stock from London.
county town n. the town in which the administrative centre of a county is based; cf. shire-town n. at shire n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town > [noun] > chief town of county or district
shire-town1459
city1526
county town1626
bailiwick-town1675
1626 R. Bernard Isle of Man Ep. Ded. sig. A3 In my trauelling, I came to the Countie Towne.
1700 in C. J. Hoadly Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1868) IV. 331 There shall be four Grammar Schools constantly kept, at the four countie townes of this Colonie.
1791 G. Washington Diary 30 May (1860) 199 Salisbury is but a small place altho' it is the County town.
1853 F. W. Thomas John Randolph & Other Sketches 136 It was and is a county town, and court was regularly held there.
2000 Belfast News Let. (Nexis) 29 Dec. 34 The urban area of Dundalk is larger than any other town in Ireland. It is a municipal borough and the county town and administrative capital of County Louth.
county treasurer n. U.S. an official in charge of financial matters in a county.
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1654 in Rec. Mass. Bay (1854) III. 341 That the county Treasurer shall once every yeare present his acco[unt] to the County Court.
1866 in 2nd Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1873–4 (1874) 498 The county clerk shall..cause warrants to be issued upon the county treasurer.
2008 Wabaunsee County (Kansas) Signal-Enterprise (Nexis) 10 Apr. There is a wide range of duties for a county treasurer.
countywide adj. extending throughout a county; of, relating to, or serving an entire county.
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society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [adjective] > relating to a county
county1677
countywide1857
1857 Essex Standard 25 Sept. 2/7 There is a lady in this town of known county-wide celebrity for Liberal principles.
1936 N.Y. Amsterdam News 15 Feb. 16/5 More than 200 young people..met a few days ago at Dodgers' Grill to organize a county-wide unit of Young Democracy.
2010 R. N. Wells New York State Govt. & Politics in Nutshell iv. 29 Their [sc. the surrogate judges'] jurisdiction is countywide.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† countyn.2
Obsolete (historical in later use).
= count n.2
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society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > for a count
count?c1425
county?c1525
grave1606
?c1525 (a1503) Receyt Ladie Kateryne (Coll. Arms M.13) (1990) iii. 45 And at the lougher partie of the seid burde and meas were sett the Duches of Norfolk, therl of Hispayne, and the Cownties, and were servyd that day with lordes and noble knightes.
1539 T. Wyatt Let. 2 Dec. in K. Muir Life & Lett. Sir T. Wyatt (1963) 101 I can lerne off the Countye Gwillam.
1550 J. Coke Deb. Heraldes Eng. & Fraunce sig. Eijv Monster de labright, countie de foyx.
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 243 Iohn, Countie of Arminack.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. ii. 44 Than is there the Countie Palentine.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 29 Raymund countie of Poitv.
1675 J. Brydall Jus Imaginis apud Anglos 9 And those which of antient time were created Countees, or Earls.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. xii. 386 After the Norman conquest they [sc. earls] were for some time called counts, or countees, from the French.
1814 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Vision II. xiv. 120 Who care to propagate A race of Counties from such blood as theirs.
1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon 146/2 Countee or Count, the most eminent dignity of a subject before the conquest.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1adj.1319
n.2?c1525- archcorsair
- archcosener
- archcount
- archcriminal
- archcritic
- archcupbearer
- archdaemon
- archdapifer
- archdapifership
- archdeacon
- archdeaconate
- archdeaconates
- archdeaconess
- archdeaconries
- archdeaconry
- archdeacons
- archdeaconship
- archdeaconships
- archdean
- archdeanery
- archdeceiver
- archdefender
- archdepredator
- archdespot
- archdevil