shire

¹

[shahy^uhr]

noun

1. one of the counties of Great Britain.

2. the Shires, the counties in the Midlands in which hunting is especially popular.

Shire

²

[shahy^uhr]

noun

1. one of an English breed of large, strong draft horses having a usually brown or bay coat with white markings.

Shiré

³

[shee-rey]

noun

1. a river in SE Africa, flowing S from Lake Malawi to the Zambezi River. 370 miles (596 km) long.

shire

¹

/ ʃaɪə /

noun

1. 1. one of the British counties

   2. ( in combination )

      Yorkshire

2. (in Australia) a rural district having its own local council

3. See shire horse

4. the Midland counties of England, esp Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, famous for hunting, etc

Shire

²

/ ˈʃɪəreɪ /

noun

1. a river in E central Africa, flowing from Lake Malawi through Malawi and Mozambique to the Zambezi. Length: 596 km (370 miles)

shire

³

/ ʃaɪə /

verb

1. dialect,  (tr) to refresh or rest

   let me get my head shired

Other Word Forms

• subshire noun
• undershire noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shire¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English scīr office of administration, jurisdiction of such an office, county

Origin of shire²

1875–80; apparently so called because it was bred in the shires, i.e., those counties of west and central England whose names end in -shire

Word History and Origins

Origin of shire¹

Old English scīr office; related to Old High German scīra business

Origin of shire²

from Old English scīr clear

Example Sentences

"It's not an easy thing to go through a grieving process... and it's particularly not easy when there's been so much attention," cattle farmer and councillor for the shire Nathan Hersey told the BBC.

From BBC

Later, the Liberal Democrats expect to sweep the Tory 'shires' as they did at the general election.

From BBC

Labour loyalists and spin doctors will emphasise what is true – the elections being fought at council level are "us fighting in the shires", as one of them said.

From BBC

The CCN represents England's 20 county councils and 17 unitary authorities in shire areas.

From BBC

Rep. Eric Gallager, a Democrat from Concord, also wants to include an official pronunciation of “New Hampshire” in state law to make it clear that “shire” rhymes with “fur” not “fire.”

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• country 
• district 
• field 
• land 
• locality 
• neighborhood 
• part 
• place 
• province 
• sector 
• suburb 
• territory 
• world 
• zone