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DictionaryshireAdministrative district
noun

shire

SHY-er/ˈʃaɪər/

A county or administrative district, especially in Britain.

The map outlines a rural shire containing a village, fields, and a river.

A simple, text-free illustrated county map: one clearly bounded rural British district contains a small village, patchwork fields and a winding river, with neighboring districts only faintly indicated.
Etymology
shireOld Englishjurisdiction; district

Old English scir covered both administrative authority and the district under that authority. The modern county sense preserves this connection between governing responsibility and a defined territory.

In context

Old Time Radio Researchers19:03
without my Robin's kind officers the Shire would run with blood many times over
Family Theater - Robin Hood

More examples

  • The river marks the boundary between two neighboring shires.
  • The old map divides the kingdom into several shires.
  • She lives in a rural shire far from the capital.

Forms

shire · shires

Similar words

county
The usual modern term for this British administrative division.
district
A broader term for areas defined for many different purposes.