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countessn. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French countesse. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman cuntesse, countesse, countasse, countés, counteise, comitesse, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French contesse (Old French, Middle French, French comtesse ) wife or widow of a count or earl, woman holding the rank of count or earl (c1100 in Anglo-Norman) < conte count n.2 + -esse -ess suffix1. Compare post-classical Latin comitissa (in Continental Europe) wife or widow of a count (9th cent.; frequently from 11th cent. in British sources), wife of an ealdorman (11th cent. in British sources), wife of an earl (frequently from 11th cent. in British sources), feminine form corresponding to classical Latin comit- , comes (see count n.2). Compare also Old Occitan comtesa , Catalan comtessa (1062), Spanish condesa (1805 as †comdessa ), Portuguese condessa (1017 as †comitessa ), Italian contessa (mid 13th cent.: see contessa n.).The β. forms reflect the Anglo-Norman variant comitesse, which itself shows remodelling after post-classical Latin comitissa. society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > earl, count, or countess > [noun] > countess ?a1160 (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 Þe kinges dohter Henries, þe hefde ben Emperice [in] Alamanie & nu wæs cuntesse in Angou. a1250 (?c1200) (Titus) (1940) l. 96 Aske..þes riche cuntasses. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) l. 10500 (MED) Þe contesse isabel, þat þerl mareschales douȝter was, To gileberd erl of gloucestre ispoused was. c1330 (Auch.) (1914) 622 Þo was þe douke..brouȝt to þe conteise sone. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng (Petyt) ii. 189 (MED) Countas of Marche was sche. 1474 W. Caxton tr. (1883) iii. v. 121 Quenes duchesses and countesses and alle other ladyes. c1500 (1895) 35 Specyally the Countesse, the said Erlis wyf. 1577 R. Holinshed II. 1581/2 Margaret, Countesse of Salisbury,..was the last of the right line and name of Plantagenet. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. ii. 1 Were not you eu'n now, with the Countesse Oliuia? View more context for this quotation 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán ii. 42 The Countesse put mee into a night-dressing, and a Smocke. 1692 R. L'Estrange cclxxxvi. 250 I had rather be a Live-Begger then a Dead Countess. 1764 A. Maclaine tr. J. L. von Mosheim iii. xi. ii. §16 The sanctimonious pontiff resided at that time with the young Mathilda, countess of Tuscany. 1814 J. Mayne 7 Nov. (1909) x. 183 Countess Cardelli, who has agreeable musical parties at her house every Sunday evening. 1892 26 May 3/3 The guests comprised..Earl and Countess Waldegrave, the Earl and Countess of Gosford..the Dowager Countess of Mayo. 1910 May 222/1 When the inconvenient husband died, a marriage took place, and Mrs Browne became a countess. 1968 2 Jan. 8/2 The engagement is announced between Neil Pike, Grenadier Guards.., and Romayne, elder daughter of the Earl and Countess of Meath. 2002 (Nexis) 26 Feb. A memorial service for Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, will be held in Westminster Abbey. society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > building stone > stone of the nature of slate > for roofing > piece of > having definite dimensions 1803 22 109 He had delivered..eight thousand Countesses and eleven thousand Ladies. 1823 P. Nicholson 395 The Welsh slates are generally classed in the following order:—Ladies 1 ft. 3 in. by 8 in.; Countesses 1 ft. 8 in. by 10 in.; Duchesses 2 ft. by 1 ft. 1840 F. Marryat III. 138 Countesses are very light, and the wind gets underneath them. 1883 1 Sept. 1/4 The disturbed slates rattled down on every side, regardless of the precedence in order of rank to which they were soon introduced as ‘ladies’, ‘countesses’, or ‘duchesses’, according to their merits. 1944 D. E. Warland viii. 110 The most common sizes in use are:—Duchess..24 in. long x 12 in. wide. Countess..20 in. ″ 10 in. ″. 2006 22 40/2 Traditionally slate used a range of names for the different sizes available..(measurements in inches): Lady (16 × 8), Viscountess (18 × 9), Countess (20 × 10). Derivatives society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > earl, count, or countess > [noun] > countess > position of countess 1598 G. Chapman sig. E Now madam countesse do you make account. To take vp husbandes by your countishippe. 1612 G. Chapman i. sig. B3 To see with what alacritie Ile a-coast her Countessship. 1746 T. Blight Let. in J. Stevenson (1920) xiii. 382 And to the Countess it was ‘please your Countess-ship & will your Countess-ship eat a bit of this.’ 1874 A. Trollope I. ii. 27 If the Countess-ship of the Countess were to be admitted. 1976 G. Mcdonald iv. 22 Sylvia can take her precious countess-ship and walk into the sea with it. 2009 P. M. Collins xiv. 87 Thank you for choosing us out of all the common people to stop and talk to, your Countess-ship. Compounds 1703 D. Jones 74 Take the Powder of Crabs Eyes, and the Countess's Powder, of each 12 Grains. 1866 42 385 For some time the medicine was known only as ‘Countess's bark’ or ‘Countess's powder’. 1915 18 Feb. 281/1 As the bark was usually put on the market in the condition of powder, it came to be known as the ‘Countess's powder’, ‘Jesuit's powder’, and the ‘English remedy’. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). countessv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: countess n. rare. 1791 H. Walpole 9 Oct. (1944) XI. 366 The two beautiful sisters were going on the stage, when they are at once exalted almost as high as they could be, were Countessed and double-Duchessed. 1861 G. Meredith II. ix. 153 She's grown since she's been countessed, and does it peacocky. 2007 (Nexis) 16 May 26 He also claimed to be a count but ran off with the best man before Prim could be countessed. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.?a1160 v.1791 |
