county 1
/kown"tee/ , n. , pl. counties .
1. the largest administrative division of a U.S. state: Miami, Florida, is in Dade County.
2. one of the chief administrative divisions of a country or state, as in Great Britain and Ireland.
3. one of the larger divisions for purposes of local administration, as in Canada and New Zealand.
4. the territory of a county, esp. its rural areas: We farmed out in the county before moving to town.
5. the inhabitants of a county: It was supposed to be a secret, but you told the whole county.
6. the domain of a count or earl.
[ 1250-1300; ME counte counté, OF cunté, conte comitatus imperial seat, office of a comes (see COUNT 2 ), equiv. to L comit-, s. of comes + -atus -ATE 3 (or by reanalysis of L comitatus escort, retinue, orig. v. noun of comitari to accompany, deriv. of comes ]
county 2
/kown"tee/ , n. Obs.
count 2 .
[ 1540-50; counte COUNT 2 ; -y by confusion with COUNTY 1 ]