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Borough vs County - What's the difference?

borough | county |

As nouns the difference between borough and county

is that borough is a fortified town while county is the land ruled by a count or a countess.

As a proper noun Borough

is the area, properly called Southwark, just south of London Bridge.

As an adjective county is

characteristic of a ‘county family’; representative of the gentry or aristocracy of a county.

borough

English

Alternative forms

* boro

Noun

(en noun)
  • (obsolete) A fortified town.
  • (rare) A town or city.
  • A town having a municipal corporation and certain traditional rights.
  • An administrative district in some cities, e.g., London.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=7 citation , passage=The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.}}
  • An administrative unit of a city which, under most circumstances according to state or national law, would be considered a larger or more powerful entity; most commonly used in American English to define the five counties that make up New York City.
  • Other similar administrative units in cities and states in various parts of the world.
  • A district in Alaska having powers similar to a county.
  • (historical, British, legal) An association of men who gave pledges or sureties to the king for the good behaviour of each other.
  • (historical, British, legal) The pledge or surety thus given.
    • (Blackstone)
    (Tomlins)
    (Webster 1913)

    Derived terms

    * boroughhood * -borough * municipal borough * parliamentary borough

    Related terms

    * burgh * -bury

    county

    English

    Noun

    (counties)
  • (historical) The land ruled by a count or a countess.
  • An administrative region of various countries, including Bhutan, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro and Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
  • A definitive geographic region, without direct administrative functions.
    • traditional county

    Usage notes

    * In American usage, counties are almost always designated as such, with the word "County" capitalized and following the name — e.g., "Lewis County", rarely "Lewis", and never "County Lewis." * In British usage, counties are referenced without designation — e.g. "Kent" and never "Kent County". The exception is Durham, which is often "County Durham" (but never "Durham County"). An organisation such as Kent County Council is the "County Council" of "Kent" and not the "Council" of "Kent County". * In Irish usage, counties are frequently referenced, but like Durham precede the name — e.g., "County Cork" or "Cork" and never "Cork County."

    Derived terms

    * countyhood * countywide * another county heard from * traditional county

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Characteristic of a ‘county family’; representative of the gentry or aristocracy of a county.
  • *1979 , , Smiley's People , Folio Society 2010, p. 274:
  • *:She was a tall girl and county , with Hilary's walk: she seemed to topple even when she sat.