Bedfordshire
English
Etymology
From Middle English Bedefordschire, from Old English Bedanfordsċīr, equivalent to Bedford + shire.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbɛd.fəd.ʃə(ɹ)/
Proper noun
Bedfordshire
- A midland county of England, county town Bedford, bounded by Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
- (Britain, slang) Bed.
- 1993, Tom Wakefield, War Paint
- I'll be up to Bedfordshire if you two don't mind. I'm on early shift in the morning so I'll have to be up and out by five.
- 1998, Mary Sheepshanks, A Price for Everything
- Now come along young lady, up to Bedfordshire.
- 1993, Tom Wakefield, War Paint
Usage notes
The slang sense is used only for bed in its uncountable sense of a place to sleep, never to refer to an individual piece of furniture.
Derived terms
- Bedfordshire clanger
- Central Bedfordshire