Shire reeve

Shire reeve
Shire Shire, n. [AS. sc[=i]re, sc[=i]r, 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]

Note: 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]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • shire-reeve — (spelled, also, Shire rieve, or Shire reve). In Saxon law, the reeve or bailiff of the shire. The viscount of the Anglo Normans, and the sheriff of later times. In early England, the senior law enforcement figure in a country; the forerunner of… …   Black's law dictionary

  • shire-reeve — ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun Etymology: shire (I) + reeve; translation of Old English scīrgerēfa : a sheriff in England before the Norman Conquest * * * shireˈ reeve noun A sheriff (see ety at ↑sheriff) • • • Main Entry: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • shire-reeve — Same as sheriff …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • Reeve — (auch Bailif , deutsch Vogt , frz. Bailiare ) ist ein englischer Familienname. Er stammt aus dem normannisch geprägten England, wo der Reeve ein Vertreter des Earl (Graf) war, der Verwalter, Steuereintreiber und Schöffe (Ankläger und Richter)… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Shire — Shire, n. [AS. sc[=i]re, sc[=i]r, 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 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shire clerk — Shire Shire, n. [AS. sc[=i]re, sc[=i]r, 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shire mote — Shire Shire, n. [AS. sc[=i]re, sc[=i]r, 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shire town — Shire Shire, n. [AS. sc[=i]re, sc[=i]r, 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shire wick — Shire Shire, n. [AS. sc[=i]re, sc[=i]r, 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shire Court — or Shire Moot was an Anglo Saxon institution dating back to the earliest days of English society. The Shire Court referred to the magnates, both lay and spiritual, who were entitled to sit in council for the shire and was a very early form of… …   Wikipedia

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