|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
shire
shire Formerly, the main unit of local administration in England. Shires evolved as territorial units in Wessex in the 9th century, replacing the Roman system of provinces. They were extended over a wider area of England by ALFRED the Great and his heirs as administrative and political units. The English shire system reveals many different evolutionary processes. Some were based on former kingdoms (Kent, Sussex, Essex); others on tribal subdivisions within a kingdom (Norfolk and Suffolk); others were created during the 10th-century reconquest of the DANELAW or as territories centred on towns (Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, etc.). England north of the River Tees was not absorbed into the shire system until the Norman Conquest when shires were re-styled ‘counties’.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"shire." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "shire." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-shire.html "shire." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-shire.html |
|
shire
shire an administrative district in medieval times, consisting of a number of smaller districts (hundreds or wapentakes); the name comes from Old English scīr ‘care, official charge, county’.
Since the late 18th century, the Shires has been used in reference to parts of England regarded as strongholds of traditional rural culture, especially the rural Midlands. shire horse a heavy powerful horse of a draught breed, originally from the English Midlands; the name is recorded from the late 19th century. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "shire." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "shire." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-shire.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "shire." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-shire.html |
|
Shire
Shire or Shiré , river, c.250 mi (400 km) long, flowing from the southern end of Lake Nyasa, Malawi, SE Africa, to the Zambezi River in central Mozambique. It is navigable to Nsanje. The upper Shire has been developed for irrigation and power production. Cotton is raised in the valley. |
|
|
Cite this article
"Shire." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Shire." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Shire.html "Shire." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Shire.html |
|
shire
shire †official charge; †district under a governor, bishop's see, etc.; administrative district later called county OE. (hence terminal element in names of counties XII). OE. sċīr = OHG. sċīra care, official charge; of uncert. orig.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "shire." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "shire." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-shire.html T. F. HOAD. "shire." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-shire.html |
|
shires
shires. See counties.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "shires." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "shires." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-shires.html JOHN CANNON. "shires." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-shires.html |
|
shires
shires See counties.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "shires." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "shires." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-shires.html JOHN CANNON. "shires." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-shires.html |
|
shire
shire
•acquire, admire, afire, applier, aspire, attire, ayah, backfire, barbwire, bemire, briar, buyer, byre, choir, conspire, crier, cryer, defier, denier, desire, dire, drier, dryer, dyer, enquire, entire, esquire, expire, fire, flyer, friar, fryer, Gaia, gyre, hellfire, hire, hiya, ire, Isaiah, jambalaya, Jeremiah, Josiah, Kintyre, latria, liar, lyre, Maia, Maya, Mayer, messiah, mire, misfire, Nehemiah, Obadiah, papaya, pariah, peripeteia, perspire, playa, Praia, prior, pyre, quire, replier, scryer, shire, shyer, sire, skyer, Sophia, spire, squire, supplier, Surabaya, suspire, tier, tire, transpire, trier, tumble-dryer, tyre, Uriah, via, wire, Zechariah, Zedekiah, Zephaniah
•homebuyer
|
|
|
Cite this article
"shire." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "shire." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-shire.html "shire." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-shire.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
