Bharatpediahk at 06:41, 19 September 2023

2023-09-19T06:41:49Z

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{{short description|Geographical and administrative region in some countries}}
{{distinguish|Country}}
{{use dmy dates |date=June 2022}}
A '''county''' is a geographic [[region]] of a country used for administrative or other purposes<ref name=chambers>L. Brookes (ed.) ''[[Chambers Dictionary]]''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005.</ref> in some modern nations. The term is derived from the [[Old French]] {{wikt-lang|fro|comté}} denoting a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a [[count]] ([[earl]]) or a [[viscount]].<ref name=etymology>C. W. Onions (Ed.) ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology''. [[Oxford University Press]], 1966.</ref> Literal equivalents in other languages, derived from the equivalent of "count", are now seldom used officially, including {{wikt-lang|fr|comté}}, {{lang|it|contea}}, {{lang|it|contado}}, {{lang|ca|comtat}}, {{lang|es|condado}}, {{lang|de|Grafschaft}}, {{lang|nl|graafschap}}, and ''zhupa'' in [[Slavic languages]]; terms equivalent to 'commune' or 'community' are now often instead used.

When the [[Normans]] conquered England, they brought the term with them. The [[Saxons]] had already established the districts that became the [[historic counties of England]], calling them [[shire]]s;<ref name="vision">Vision of Britain [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/types/type_page.jsp?unit_type=ANC_CNTY] – Type details for ancient county. Retrieved 31 March 2012</ref> many county names derive from the name of the county town ([[county seat]]) with the word ''shire'' added on: for example, [[Gloucestershire]] and [[Worcestershire]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=county&searchmode=none |encyclopedia=Etymology Online |title=county }}</ref> The [[Anglo-Saxon people|Anglo-Saxon]] terms ''earl'' and ''earldom'' were taken as equivalent to the [[continental Europe|continental]] terms "count" and "county" under the conquering Normans, and over time the two blended and became equivalent. Further, the later-imported term became a synonym for the native [[Old English]] word {{wikt-lang|ang|sċīr}} ({{IPA-ang|ʃiːr|}}) or, in [[Modern English]], ''shire'' – an equivalent administrative division of the kingdom. The term "county" evolved, consequently, to designate a level of [[local government|local administration]] that was immediately beneath a [[Central government|national government]], within a [[unitary state|unitary]] (non-federal) system of government. County later also became used differently in some [[federalism|federal systems]] of government, for a local administrative division subordinate to a primary [[subnational entity]], such as a Province (e.g. Canada) or a level 3 territorial unit such as NUTS 3.

In the United States and Canada, founded 600 years later{{efn |1666 in the consolidation of Canada after the [[French and Indian War]] from the 1066 [[Norman Conquest]]... 600 yrs }} on the British traditions, counties are usually an administrative division set by convenient geographical demarcations, which in governance have certain officeholders (for example [[sheriff]]s and their [[sheriff's department|department]]s) as a part of the [[state (United States)|state]]'s and [[province (Canada)|province]]'s mechanisms, including geographically common court systems.<ref name="citsguide2">{{cite journal |title=County Government |year=2010 |page=8 |journal=Citizen's Guide to Pennsylvania Local Government |url=http://dced.pa.gov/download/citizens-guide-to-pennsylvania-local-government-pdf/ |access-date=2016-08-09 |quote=The eleven elected county officers are enumerated in the Pennsylvania Constitution, but their powers and duties are prescribed by statutes located throughout the county codes and general state laws. Consolidation of certain offices in smaller counties involves the offices of prothonotary, clerk of courts, register of wills and recorder of deeds. }}</ref>

A county may be further subdivided into districts, [[hundred (county division)|hundred]]s, [[civil township|townships]], or other administrative jurisdictions within the county. A county usually, but not always, contains cities, towns, [[civil township|townships]], [[village]]s, or other [[municipal corporation]]s, which in most cases are somewhat subordinate or dependent upon county governments. Depending on the nation, [[municipality]], and local geography, municipalities may or may not be subject to direct or indirect county control. The functions of both levels are often consolidated into a city government when the area is densely populated, and are generally not when it is less densly populated.{{efn |The larger the population center, and the denser the population, the more likely it is to have assumed and subsumed county level functions; normally under a special bill passed by the cognizant legislative body. }}

Outside [[English-speaking countries]], an equivalent of the term ''county'' is often used to describe subnational jurisdictions that are structurally equivalent to counties in the relationship they have with their national government;{{efn |National governments that are Federations, such as Germany have subdivisions similar to the English Counties in size. France has regions and departements which similarly provide governmental services. Which services are mapped to which governmental offices, level or officials is the province of the national constitution and legislative body. }} but which may not be administratively equivalent to counties in predominantly English-speaking countries.

County - Revision history

Bharatpediahk at 06:41, 19 September 2023