Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A woman holding the title of count or earl.
- noun The wife or widow of a count in various European countries.
- noun The wife or widow of an earl in Great Britain.
- noun Used as a title for such a noblewoman.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The title, in English, of the wife of any nobleman on the continent of Europe bearing a title equivalent to English
count : commonly extended also to the daughters of such noblemen as a prefix to their personal names. - noun In the British peerage, the wife or widow of an earl, or a woman possessing an earldom in her own right.
- noun A roofing-slate 20 inches long and 10 inches wide.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The wife of an earl in the British peerage, or of a count in the Continental nobility; also, a lady possessed of the same dignity in her own right. See the Note under
count .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The wife of a
count orearl . - noun The title used by a female who holds an earldom in her own right.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun female equivalent of a count or earl
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Contessa is a title countess and so I saw her first as a titled adult, then I read that she's been adopted.
HH Com 440 Miss Snark 2006
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Christianity is a spiritual-semantic meme that has evolved in countess fascinating ways, and has been exploited by a plethora of power structures.
Archive 2010-01-01 2010
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Christianity is a spiritual-semantic meme that has evolved in countess fascinating ways, and has been exploited by a plethora of power structures.
LNN interviews Casey Rae-Hunter on his new album : The Lovecraft News Network 2010
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Chertkov warns the innocent Valentin that the countess is dangerous to their mission and instructs him to keep detailed reports.
Mirren is the power behind Tolstoy biopic 'Last Station' 2009
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An African American Jewish woman educated by a countess from the age of seven, for at least a decade this “Dark Lady of the Sonnets” was mistress to the man in charge of the English Theater.
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Further, the title of countess is legally bestowed if a female is the sole heir, which gives Lillian Boudine the title of Countess of Ashwood and all the responsibilities and entitlements that entails.
The Year of Living Scandalously Julia London 2010
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Further, the title of countess is legally bestowed if a female is the sole heir, which gives Lillian Boudine the title of Countess of Ashwood and all the responsibilities and entitlements that entails.
The Year of Living Scandalously Julia London 2010
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If a certain American countess had not patronized her; if certain lorgnettes (implements of torture used by said son of Satan) had not been leveled in her direction; if certain fans had not been suggestively spread between pairs of feminine heads, -- Nora would have been as harmless as a playful kitten.
The Place of Honeymoons Harold MacGrath 1901
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What was more, my lord's coachman caught it up, and he called her countess, and he had a quarrel about it with the footman Kendall; and the day after a dreadful affair between them in the mews, home drives madam, and Kendall is to go up to her, and down the poor man comes, and not a word to be got out of him, but as if he had seen a ghost.
Complete Project Gutenberg Works of George Meredith George Meredith 1868
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What was more, my lord's coachman caught it up, and he called her countess, and he had a quarrel about it with the footman Kendall; and the day after a dreadful affair between them in the mews, home drives madam, and Kendall is to go up to her, and down the poor man comes, and not a word to be got out of him, but as if he had seen a ghost.
Beauchamp's Career — Volume 6 George Meredith 1868
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