comté French · revision 16004

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=early 12th century, Laws of William the Conqueror}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɔ̃.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''comté''' ''m'' (plural comtés)^(Wiktionary)

+ [[xno|cunté]] (early 12th century), ''conté'' (1155), ''comté'' (15th century, Froissart).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is derived from [[comte]] with the suffix “-é”, compare [[la-med|comitātus|t=territory governed by a count]] (779), also “law court” (about 980), which may have served as the model.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 940b)

+

+ Its gender long wavered: it was feminine from about 1174 until the 19th century, which Bloch and Wartburg put down to the abstract nouns in “-té” (“bonté”, “parenté”) and the TLFi also to confusion between the suffixes “-é” and “-eé”; the TLFi finds a direct origin in “conteé”, as the FEW suggests, improbable.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989) Compare [[it|contado]], [[es|condado]] and [[pro|comtat]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Laws of William the Conqueror'' (early 12th century) ''cunté'' is, in England, a law court under a sheriff or viscount.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Wace's ''Brut'' (1155) a ''conté'' is the domain ruled by a count, still in England; this feudal sense became a territory that gave its owner the title of count.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The feminine survives in the name ''Franche-Comté''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ From the late 18th century, after [[en|county]] (1411), itself from Old French, it has named an administrative division in English-speaking countries: in Canada from 1764–1792, in England from 1845.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(BHVF) In Canadian French it is institutional, notably for an electoral district.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 12th century – ''Cunté'' “law court”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1155 – ''Conté'' “domain of a count”, in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1174 – Feminine, in Garnier de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^(TLFi)

+ * 15th century – The spelling ''comté'' in Froissart.^(TLFi)

+ * 1792 – A Canadian county.^(TLFi)

+ * 1845 – English counties.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(history)'' A domain that gave its holder the title of count; a [[m|en|county]], earldom: ''le comté de Flandre''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A county (in Britain and other English-speaking countries).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(Canada)'' A county; an electoral district, riding.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[comte]]

+ * [[comtesse]]

+ * [[comtat]]

+ * [[vicomté]]

+ * [[la-med|comitātus]]

+ * [[en|county]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Comté'' is also the name of a hard cheese made in Franche-Comté, taken in the 20th century from the name of the province.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}