shire

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English scir, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *skīrō, *skīzō.

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /ʃaɪə(ɹ)/

Noun

shire (plural shires)

1. Former administrative area of Britain; a county.

   Yorkshire is the largest shire in England.

2. (UK, 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?

3. A rural or outer suburban local government area of Australia.
4. A shire horse.

Related terms

• sheriff

Translations

former administrative area of Britain; a county

• Bulgarian: гра́фство n (gráfstvo)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 郡 (zh) (jùn), 夏 (zh) (xià)

• Czech: hrabství n
• Dutch: graafschap (nl) n
• Finnish: kreivikunta
• French: comté (fr) f
• German: Grafschaft (de) f
• Hungarian: megye (hu)
• Icelandic: skíri n
• Irish: sír f
• Italian: contea (it) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: シャイア (shaia), 郡 (ja) (ぐん, gun)
• Manx: sheer
• Old High German: scīra
• Polish: hrabstwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: condado (pt) m
• Romanian: judet n
• Russian: гра́фство (ru) n (gráfstvo)
• Scottish Gaelic: siorrachd f, siorramachd f
• Spanish: condado (es) m
• Swedish: grevskap (sv) n
• Turkish: shire
• Welsh: sir (cy)

rural or outer suburban local government area of Australia

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 郡 (zh) (jùn)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: comté (fr) m
• Polish: hrabstwo (pl)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} skíri n

Verb

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

• heirs
• hires, hi-res
• Sheri
• shier