shire
See also: Shire and -shire
English
Etymology
From Middle English shire, from Old English scir, from Proto-West Germanic *skīru.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ʃaɪə(ɹ)/
Audio (UK) (file)
- (General American) IPA(key): /ʃaɪəɹ/
Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
Noun
shire (plural shires)
- Physical area administered by a sheriff.
- Former administrative area of Britain; a county.
- Yorkshire is the largest shire in England.
- (UK, colloquial) The general area in which a person lives or comes from, used in the context of travel within the United Kingdom.
- When are you coming back to the shire?
- A rural or outer suburban local government area of Australia.
- A shire horse.
Derived terms
- Four Shire Stone
- -shire
- shire horse
- Shire Oak
- shire town
Related terms
- sheriff
Descendants
- → Icelandic: skíri
Translations
former administrative area of Britain; a county
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rural or outer suburban local government area of Australia
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- 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
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Verb
shire (third-person singular simple present shires, present participle shiring, simple past and past participle shired)
- 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, page 160:
- The province was shired into nine counties, […]
- County Longford was shired in 1586
- 1985, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, page 291:
References
- “shire”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Anagrams
- Hersi, Hires, Hiser, Sheri, Shier, heirs, hi-res, hires, reish, shier
Dongxiang
Etymology
From Proto-Mongolic *sirexe, compare Mongolian ширээ (širee).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʂiˈrə/, [ʂɨˈrɛ]
Noun
shire
- table
- ijieku dunxila chukuide wo, yunjiku dunxila shire jiere wo.
- The food is in the cupboard and the things for use are on the table.
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English sċīr (“shire”), from Proto-West Germanic *skīru. The final vowel is generalised from the Old English inflected forms.
Alternative forms
- shiere, chire, ssire, schire, schyre
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʃiːr(ə)/
Noun
shire (plural shires)
- shire, district, county
- late 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. General Prologue: 15-16.
- And specially from every shires ende
- Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
- And specially from every shire's end
- Of England they to Canterbury went,
- late 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. General Prologue: 15-16.
Related terms
- shirreve
Descendants
- Scots: shire
- English: shire
- → Icelandic: skíri
Etymology 2
From Old English sċīr (“bright”).
Adjective
shire
- Alternative form of schyre (“bright”)
Etymology 3
From Old English sċīran, from Proto-Germanic *skīrijaną.
Verb
shire
- Alternative form of schiren