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Webster 1913 Edition

Shire

Shire

,
Noun.
[AS.
scīre
,
scīr
, a division, province, county. Cf.
Sheriff
.]
1.
A portion of Great Britain originally under the supervision of an earl; a territorial division, usually identical with a county, but sometimes limited to a smaller district;
as, Wilt
shire
, York
shire
, Richmond
shire
, Hallam
shire
.
An indefinite number of these hundreds make up a county or
shire
.
Blackstone.
2.
A division of a State, embracing several contiguous townships; a county.
[U. S.]
☞ Shire is commonly added to the specific designation of a county as a part of its name; as, Yorkshire instead of York shire, or the shire of York; Berkshire instead of Berks shire. Such expressions as the county of Yorkshire, which in a strict sense are tautological, are used in England. In the United States the composite word is sometimes the only name of a county; as, Berkshire county, as it is called in Massachusetts, instead of Berks county, as in Pensylvania.
The Tyne, Tees, Humber, Wash, Yare, Stour, and Thames separate the counties of Northumberland, Durham, York
shire
, Lincoln
shire
, etc.
Encyc. Brit.
Knight of the shire
.
See under
Knight
.
–
Shire clerk
,
an officer of a county court; also, an under sheriff.
[Eng.]
–
Shire mote
(Old. Eng. Law)
,
the county court; sheriff’s turn, or court.
[Obs.]
Cowell.
Blackstone.
–
Shire reeve
(Old Eng. Law)
,
the reeve, or bailiff, of a shire; a sheriff.
Burrill.
–
Shire town
,
the capital town of a county; a county town.
–
Shire wick
,
a county; a shire.
[Obs.]
Holland.

Webster 1828 Edition

Shire

SHIRE

,
Noun.
In England, a division of territory, otherwise called a county. The shire was originally a division of the kingdom under the jurisdiction of an earl or count, whose authority was entrusted to the sherif. [shire-reeve.] On this officer the goverment ultimately devolved. In the United States, the corresponding division of a state is called a county, but we retain shire in the in the compound half-shire; as when the county court is held in two towns in the same county alternately, we call one of the divisions a half-shire.
In some states, shire as the constituent part of the name of a county, as Berkshire, Hampshire, in Massachusetts. These being the names established by law, we cannot say, the county of Berkshire, and we cannot with propriety say, the caounty of Berks, for there is no county in Massa chusetts thus named.

Definition 2024

shire

shire

English

Noun

shire ‎(plural shires)

  1. Physical area administered by a sheriff.
  2. Former administrative area of Britain; a county.
    Yorkshire is the largest shire in England.
  3. (Britain, 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?
  4. A rural or outer suburban local government area of Australia.
  5. A shire horse.

Related terms

Translations

Verb

shire ‎(third-person singular simple present shires, present participle shiring, simple past and past participle shired)

  1. To (re)constitute as one or more shires or 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

Etymology

From Old English scir, from Proto-Germanic *skīrō, *skīzō.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ʃaɪə(ɹ)/

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