shire
noun /ˈʃaɪə(r)/
/ˈʃaɪər/
(British English)- [countable] (old use) a county
- -shirecombining form used in the names of some counties in Britain/ʃə(r)//ʃər/
- Hampshire
- Yorkshire
- the Shires(also the Shire Counties)[plural] counties in central England that are in country areas
- Figures showed that crime was rising more quickly in the Shire Counties and rural areas than in the major cities.
CultureThe name ‘the Shires’ refers to the counties that have names ending in -shire (= an old word for county). Originally they were called this by people from southern counties that did not have -shire in their names. In modern times the Shires refer mainly to those counties that were famous for hunting, especially Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, where people had been using dogs to hunt foxes since the 17th century.Culture countiescountiesBritain is divided into small administrative regions, many of which are called counties. Three regions, the counties of Essex and Kent and the region of Sussex (which includes the counties of East and West Sussex), have the same names and cover almost the same areas as three of the former Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Other counties, for example Dorset, are probably based on areas where particular tribes once lived.Counties were previously called shires. The original shires were the counties of the English Midlands and the word became part of their name, for example Northamptonshire. Administrative and legal affairs were dealt with by shire courts presided over by 'shire-reeves', later called sheriffs. Many shires were divided into smaller districts called hundreds. The large former county of Yorkshire was until 1974 divided into ridings, North Riding, East Riding and West Riding, named after the three divisions of the 9th century Viking kingdom of York.The families of people who own land in the shire counties, are sometimes described as county, as in a county family, or are said to belong to the county set. Such people have a high social status and are thought to have a way of life that is typical of the upper class.Counties were for a long time the basis for local government. Over the years there have been many changes to their borders and names, and to the structure of local government. For example, unitary authorities were created throughout Wales and in many places in England, and a similar system of council areas was introduced in Scotland. The main difference is that counties have two levels of local government, at county and at district level, and unitary authorities and council areas have only one level. Some towns that were previously part of counties, for example Southampton, are now separate unitary authorities. Many people are confused by all the changes and continue to use the old county names.In the US most states are divided into counties, which are the largest units of local government. There are over 3 000 counties in the US; Delaware has just three, while Texas has 254. In Louisiana, similar units of local government are called parishes, and in Alaska they are called boroughs. In some urban areas, such as Philadelphia and Boston, the city takes up almost the entire county.
Word OriginOld English scīr ‘care, official charge, county’, of Germanic origin.