| Shire 1. (n.) 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. 2. (n.) A division of a State, embracing several contiguous townships; a county. Thesaurus Entries Kreis, archbishopric, archdiocese, arrondissement, bailiwick, bishopric, borough, canton, city, commune, congressional district, constablewick, county, departement, diocese, district, duchy, electoral district, electorate, government, hamlet, hundred, magistracy, metropolis, metropolitan area, oblast, okrug, parish, precinct, principality, province, region, riding, sheriffalty, sheriffwick, shrievalty, soke, stake, state, territory, town, township, village, wapentake, ward | ![]() |