countess Hear it!

countess Definition

count·ess (ko̵unt′is)

noun

  1. the wife or widow of a count or earl
  2. a noblewoman whose rank is equal to that of a count or earl

Etymology: ME countesse < OFr contesse < ML cometissa: see count & -ess

countess Synonyms

countess

n.

noblewoman, great lady, wife of a count, wife of an earl; see aristocrat, lady 3.

countess Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • answer: The countess answered with a smile that she was not an enigma for everybody, although she was necessarily so for most people.
  • become: Ranked third just a house question that cunard become the ocean countess.

Adjective modifier

  • young: The young countess had seen me arrive, and received me on the stairs in the most amiable manner.
  • widowed: By contrast, the widowed countess Isabel lacked her late husband's political clout.
  • charming: The disappearance of Steffani was the talk of Venice, but I did not inform the charming countess of that circumstance.
  • rich: In Twelfth Night, also by Shakespeare, a trick is played on Malvolio, a steward to the rich countess Olivia.