Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language, 1828
Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, 1856COUNTY, noun [Latin See Count.]
1. Originally, an earldom; the district or territory of a count or earl. Now, a circuit or particular portion of a state or kingdom, separated from the rest of the territory, for certain purposes in the administration of justice. It is called also a shire. [See Shire.] Each county has its sheriff and its court, with other officers employed in the administration of justice and the execution of the laws. In England there are fifty two counties, and in each is a Lord Lieutenant, who has command of the militia. The several states of America are divided by law into counties, in each of which is a county court of inferior jurisdiction; and in each, the supreme court of the state holds stated sessions.
2. A count; an earl or lord.
Black’s Law Dictionary, 1st Edition, 1891, 2nd Edition, 1910COUNTY.
1. A district into which a state is divided.
2. The United States are generally divided into counties; counties are divided into townships or towns.
3. In Pennsylvania the division of the province into three Counties, viz. Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester, was one of the earliest acts of William Penn, the original proprietary. There is no printed record of this division, or of the original boundaries of these counties. Proud says it was made about the year 1682. Proud's Hist. vol. 1) p. 234 vol. 2, p. 258.
4. In some states, as Illinois; 1 Breese, R. 115; a county is considered as a corporation, in others it is only a quasi corporation. 16 Mass. R. 87; 2 Mass. R. 644 7 Mass. R. 461; 1 Greenl. R. 125; 3 Greenl. R. 131; 9 Greenl. R. 88; 8 John. R. 385; 3 Munf. R. 102. Frequent difficulties arise on the division of a county. On this subject, see 16 Mass. R. 86 6 J. J. Marsh. 147; 4 Halst. R. 357; 5 Watts, R. 87 1 Cowen, R. 550; 6 Cowen, R. 642; Cowen, R. 640; 4 Yeates, R. 399 10 Mass. Rep. 290; 11 Mass. Rep. 339.
5. In the English law this word signifies the same as shire, county being derived from the French and shire from the Saxon. Both these words signify a circuit or portion of the realm, into which the whole land is divided, for the better government thereof, and the more easy administration of justice. There is no part of England that is not within some county, and the shire reve, (sheriff) originally a yearly officer, was the governor of the county. Four of the counties of England, viz. Lancaster, Chester, Durham and Ely, were called counties Palatine, which were jurisdictions of a peculiar nature, and held by, especial charter from the king. See stat. 27 H. VIII. c. 25.
The Century Dictionary, an Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, 1895COUNTY.
The name given to the principal subdivisions of the kingdom of England and of most of the states of the American Union, denoting a distinct portion of territory organized by itself for political and judicial purposes. The etymology of the word shows it to have been the district anciently governed by a count or earl. In modern use, the word may denote either the territory marked off to form a county, or the citizens resident within such; territory, taken collectively and considered as invested with political rights, or the County regarded as a municipal corporation possessing subordinate governmental powers, or an organized Jural Society invested with
specific rights and duties.
Ballentine’s Law Dictionary, James A. Ballentine, Third Edition, 1969County
I. (a) Originally, the domain or territory of a count or earl. (b) Now, a definite division of a country or state for political or administrative purposes.
2. Collectively, the inhabitants of a county.
Black’s Law Dictionary, 4th Edition, 1968County.
A political subdivision of the state: a public or municipal corporation, established for the more convenient administration of government, its powers and importance varying throughout the nation, depending upon whether it or the town has been adopted by statute as the more important arm of government: an agency of the state. 6 Am J2d Attach § 80: a circuit or portion of the state established for the better government thereof. State ex ref Milton v Dickenson. 44 Fla 623, 33 So 514.
Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th Edition, 1979COUNTY.
One of the civil divisions of a country for judicial and political purposes. 1 Bla. Comm. 113.
Etymologically, it denotes that portion of the country under the immediate government of a count or earl. 1 Bla. Comm. 116. One of the principal subdivisions of the kingdom of England and of most of the states of the American Union, denoting a distinct portion of territory organized by itself for political and judicial purposes. In modern use, the word may denote either the territory marked off to form a county, or the citizens resident within such territory, taken collectively and considered as invested with political rights, or the county regarded as a municipal corporation possessing subordinate governmental powers, or an organized jural society invested with specific rights and duties. Eagle v. Beard, 33 Ark. 501; Wooster v. Plymouth, 62 N.H. 208; In re Becker, 179 App. Div. 789, 167 N.Y.S. 118, 119; Greb v. King County, 187 Wash. 587, 60 P.2d 690, 692.
In the English law, this word signifies the same as shire, -county being derived from the French, and shire from the Saxon. Both these words signify a circuit or portion of the realm into which the whole land is divided, for the better government thereof and the more easy administration of justice. There is no part of England that is not within some county; and the shirereeve (sheriff) was the governor of the province, under the comes, earl, or count.
Counties are political subdivisions of the state, created to aid in the administration of state law for the purpose of local self-government. Hunt v. Mohave County, 18 Ariz. 480, 162 P. 600, 602; Board of Com'rs of Osborne County v. City of Osborne, 104 Kan. 671, 180 P. 233, 234; Divide
County v. Baird, 55 N.D. 45, 212 N.W. 236, 243, 51 A.L.R. 296; Dolezal v. Bostick, 41 Okl. 743, 139 P. 964, 968; Middlesex County v. City of Waltham, 278 Mass. 514, 180 N.E. 318, 319, and hence not "municipal corporations." Housing Authority of Birmingham Dist. v. Morris, 244 Ala. 557, 14 So.2d 527, 535.
Counties are held in some jurisdictions to be municipal corporations. Mosier v. Cowan, 295 Mich. 27, 294 N.W. 85, 86; Pacific Fruit & Produce Co. v. Oregon Liquor Control. Commission, D.C.Or., 41 F.Supp. 175, 179; and are sometimes said to be involuntary municipal corporations. Perkins v. Board of Com'rs of Cook County, 271 Ill. 449, 111 N.E. 580, 584, Ann.Cas.1917A, 27. Other cases, seeking to distinguish between the two, say that counties are agencies or political subdivisions of the state for governmental pur poses, and not, like municipal corporations, incorporations of the inhabitants of specified regions for purposes of local government. Dillwood v. Riecks, 42 Cal.App. 602, 184 P. 35, 37; Bexar County v. Linden, 110 Tex. 339, 220 S.W. 761.
Counties are also said to be merely quasi corporations. Breathitt County v. Hagins, 183 Ky. 294, 207 S. W. 713, 714; MacKenzie v. Douglas County, 91 Or. 375, 178 P. 350, 352; Jefferson County ex rel. Grauman v. Jefferson County Fiscal Court, 274 Ky. 91, 118 S.W.2d 181, 184.
County.
The largest territorial division for local government in state. Its powers and importance vary from state to state. In certain New England states, it exists mainly for judicial administration. In Louisiana, the equivalent unit is called a parish. Counties are held in some jurisdictions to be municipal corporations, and are sometimes said to be involuntary municipal corporations. Other cases, seeking to distinguish between the two, hold that counties are agencies or political subdivisions of the state for governmental purposes, and not, like municipal corporations, incorporations of the inhabitants of specified regions for purposes of local government. Counties are also said to be merely quasi corporations.