county

county [kount′ē]

n.

pl. counties [ME counte < OFr conté < ML comitatus, jurisdiction of a count or earl < L comes: see COUNT²]

1. a small administrative district of a country; esp.,

☆ a) the largest local administrative subdivision of most states of the U.S.

b) any of the chief administrative districts into which England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ireland are divided

c) an administrative district in certain Canadian provinces

d) an electoral district in rural New Zealand

2. the people living in a county

3. Obs. the region governed by a count or earl

adj.

of, in, for, or characteristic of a county