A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. Originally, in continental Europe, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count. Counts are called earls in post-Celtic Britain and Ireland—the term is from Old Norse jarl and was introduced by the Vikings—but there is no correlation between counties and earldoms. Rather, county, from French comté, was simply used by the Normans after 1066 to replace the native English term scir ()—Modern English shire. A shire was an administrative division of an Anglo-Saxon kingdom (Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, etc.), usually named after its administrative centre: for example, Gloucestershire, in Gloucester; Worcestershire, in Worcester; etc.Etymology of the word county.

Thus, whereas the word comté denoted a sovereign jurisdiction in the original French, the English county denotes a subdivision of a sovereign jurisdiction.

Overview

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Country/Area	Language	Singular	Plural	Number	Notes
Counties of Canada	English and French
Counties of Croatia	Croatian	županija	županije	20
Counties of Denmark	Danish	amt	amter
Counties of Estonia	Estonian	maakond	maakonnad	15
Counties of Finland	Swedish and Finnish	län/läänit	län/läänit	6
Counties of Germany	German	Kreis	Kreise	323+116
Counties of Hungary	Hungarian	megye	megyék	19/22/1	for numbers: see main article
Counties of Ireland	Irish and English	contae	contaethe	32*
Counties of Japan	Japanese	gun
Counties of Latvia	Latvian	rajons	rajoni	26
Counties of Liberia	English language			15
Counties of Lithuania	Lithuanian	apskritis	apskritys	10
Counties of Moldova	Romanian language	judeţ	judeţe	9	disbanded in 2003
Counties of the Netherlands	Dutch language	graafschap	graafschappen		only historic
Counties of Norway	Norwegian language	fylke	fylker	19
Counties of Poland	Polish language	powiat	powiaty
Counties of Romania	Romanian language	judeţ	judeţe	41+1
Counties of Serbia and Montenegro	Serbian language	okrug	okruzi	29+1/21
Counties of Sweden	Swedish language	län	län
Counties of the United Kingdom	English language
Counties of the United States	English language			3141

* The 32 refers to the counties of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland combined. For more information, see the sections on Ireland and United Kingdom below.

More on [ County ]

Inquirer front page

Germantown charter school's use of taxpayer funds being investigated
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:01:00 -0000
With renewal of its charter already in jeopardy, the Germantown Settlement Charter School is being investigated by law enforcement agencies for allegedly diverting some of the $31 million in taxpayer funds it received over nine years to prop up other nonprofits operated by its parent group.
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Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:01:00 -0000
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Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:01:00 -0000
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Polls give Obama clear lead in Pa.
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:01:00 -0000
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has nearly closed the deal in Pennsylvania, as anxiety over the economy overcomes lingering concerns about his inexperience and qualms about his race, according to more than three dozen political operatives, pollsters and analysts across the state.
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Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:01:00 -0000
The monetary meltdown that has mauled mutual funds, strangled retirement accounts, triggered layoffs, and frozen lending is forcing anxious adjustments across the region in all walks of life:
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Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:01:00 -0000
Sen. John McCain shifts from attacks to the issues. A19 Barack Obama talks sports one-on-one with our Bob Ford. E1

Today's Tribune-Review

Petrolia residents get OK to return after chemical leak
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:55:39 -0400
About 2,500 people from the northern Butler County town of Petrolia who fled when a corrosive liquid overflowed from a tank at a chemical plant and evaporated were allowed to return home Sunday after authorities determined that no toxins remained in the air.
Emsworth native Finke aboard space launch
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:01:33 -0400
A Soyuz spacecraft with two Americans, including Emsworth native Michael Fincke, and a Russian on board lifted off from Kazakhstan on Sunday for the international space station.
Rays even ALCS in 11 innings
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:02:39 -0400
Pinch-runner Fernando Perez dashed home on Upton's sacrifice fly in the 11th inning and the Tampa Bay Rays outlasted the Boston Red Sox, 9-8, early Sunday, evening the AL championship series at one game each.
Government offices to close for Columbus Day
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:00:00 -0400
Federal, state and county offices and courts will be closed Monday in observance of Columbus Day.
Palin argues for economic freedom
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:00:00 -0400
Sarah Palin sat down Friday night with Tribune-Review political reporter Salena Zito for a wide-ranging interview that covered the economy, education, energy and the Alaska governor's approach to governing.
Cash-strapped schools turn to foundations
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:00:00 -0400
Educators facing dwindling public funding look to nonprofit education foundations to raise money for programs their districts would not otherwise be able to afford.

Centredaily.com: Local

An October surprise
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:51:00 -0400
STORMSTOWN — The Way Fruit Farm Fall Festival had a surprise pumpkin picker Saturday: Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Boalsburg: Celebrating 200 years of community
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:51:00 -0400
BOALSBURG — Residents of this village and from across Centre County gathered at the Diamond on Saturday to kick off the yearlong celebration of Boalsburg’s 200th birthday.
As Route 322 funding stalls, residents worry who’ll pay the price
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:11:00 -0400
POTTERS MILLS — Tonda Malseed saw it all coming through her windshield one afternoon last month — but she still had a split second to act.

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