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County vs Shire - What's the difference?

county | shire |

As nouns the difference between county and shire

is that county is the land ruled by a count or a countess while shire is former administrative area of Britain; a county.

As an adjective county

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

As a verb shire is

to (re)constitute as one or more shires or counties.

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.

    • shire

    English

    Noun

    (wikipedia shire) (en noun)
  • Former administrative area of Britain; a county.
    • Yorkshire is the largest shire in England.
  • (UK, colloquial) The general area in which a person lives, used in the context of travel within the UK.
    • When are you coming back to the shire ?
  • A rural or outer suburban local government area of Australia.
  • A shire horse.

    • Verb

    (shir)
  • To (re]])constitute as one or more shires or [[county, counties.
  • * 1985 , Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy , page 291:
    • Although he still managed formally to shire the province in the summer and autumn of 1585, his plan to establish a presidential government and complete the integration of Ulster into English Ireland met with royal indifference.
  • * 2012 , James Lydon, The Making of Ireland: From Ancient Times to the Present (ISBN 1134981503), page 160:
    • The province was shired into nine counties,
    County Longford was shired in 1586

    Anagrams

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