shire town

2 definitions found

shire town - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Shire \Shire\, n. [AS. sc[imac]re, sc[imac]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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              An indefinite number of these hundreds make up a
              county or shire.                      --Blackstone.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A division of a State, embracing several contiguous
        townships; a county. [U. S.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
           [1913 Webster]
  
                 The Tyne, Tees, Humber, Wash, Yare, Stour, and
                 Thames separate the counties of Northumberland,
                 Durham, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, etc. --Encyc.
                                                    Brit.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]

shire town - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  shire town
      n 1: the town or city that is the seat of government for a shire
           [syn: county town, shire town]