■ noun ( plural counties )
1》 a territorial division of some countries, forming the chief unit of local administration.
↘ US a political and administrative division of a state.
2》 [as modifier ] Brit. of or denoting aristocratic people with an ancestral home in a particular ~.
Origin
ME: from OFr. conte , from L. comitatus , from comes , comit- (see count 2 ).