shire

n. [ AS. scīre, scīr, 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 ]

☞ 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 ]