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shire - 7 dictionary results
shire
[shahyuh
r] 
–noun
| 1. | one of the counties of Great Britain. |
| 2. | the Shires, the counties in the Midlands in which hunting is especially popular. |
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE scīr office of administration, jurisdiction of such an office, county
bef. 900; ME; OE scīr office of administration, jurisdiction of such an office, county
Shire
[shahyuhr] –noun
| one of an English breed of large, strong draft horses having a usually brown or bay coat with white markings. |
Origin:
1875–80; appar. so called because it was bred in the shires, i.e., those counties of west and central England whose names end in -shire
1875–80; appar. so called because it was bred in the shires, i.e., those counties of west and central England whose names end in -shire
Shi⋅ré
[shee-rey] –noun
| a river in SE Africa, flowing S from Lake Malawi to the Zambezi River. 370 mi. (596 km) long. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To shire
| shire (shīr) n.
[Middle English, from Old English scīr, official charge, administrative district.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Shire
Shire\, n. [AS. sc[=i]re, sc[=i]r, 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, Wiltshire, Yorkshire, Richmondshire, Hallamshire. 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.] Note: 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, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, 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's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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shire
O.E. scir "administrative office or district," from P.Gmc. *skizo (cf. O.H.G. scira "care, official charge"). Ousted since 14c. by Anglo-Fr. county (q.v.). The gentrified sense is from The Shires (1796), used by people in other parts of England of those counties that end in -shire; sense transferred to the hunting country of the Midlands (1860).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Shire
draft horse breed native to the middle section of England. The breed descended from the English "great horse," which carried men in full battle armour that often weighed as much as 400 pounds. Shires were improved as draft and farm animals in the latter part of the 18th century by breeding mares from Holland to English stallions. In 1853 the first Shire was imported to the United States, but the breed never became popular there and was primarily bred to upgrade smaller farm horses
Learn more about Shire with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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