A '''county''', otherwise known as a shire, is a unit of [[local government ]] that exists in most, and historically, all English speaking countries of the world. The first shires were the ancient divisions of the kingdom of [[Wessex]], and this system was expanded to the whole of [[England]] when the kings of Wessex became kings of [[England ]] in the 10th century. Towards the end of the [[Medieval]] period the system was further expanded to [[Wales]], [[Scotland]], and [[Ireland]]. With the growth of the [[British Empire]] the system was expanded to [[America]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], and [[New Zealand]].
Traditionally, the chief officer of a county was a [[sheriff]], a word that comes from the [[Old English]] "shire-reeve" (a "reeve" was a general name for an administrative officer). The Arguably the most famous sherrif sheriff in history was the Sheriff of [[Nottingham]] from the [[Robin Hood]] legends. This office still survives in modern times, though administrative practice has gradually diverged and whereas in some parts of the USA a sheriff is nowadays a chief of police, in the UK he is a council officer responsible for enforcing court orders.
==Pronounciation==The word term "shirecounty" is often mis-pronounced. When also used on its ownto describe the rural administrative division below a [[city]] in [[China]] and [[Taiwan]], known in Chinese as 县(Pinyin: xian). Chinese counties have more powers than urban divisions at the word same level, known as districts (区,qu). The head of a Chinese county is pronounced known as a "shy-er[[magistrate]]". This pronounciation also applies to other uses, such as in Shire HorseEnglish, Shire Hall, Shire Way, Shire Barn and so onalthough this office now has no judicial function. The Chinese term is "xianzhang" {县长}.
When pronounced as part of In the [[United States]], a county name is an administrative level between the [[city]] and the [[state]]. The [[town]] in which the UKcounty government is located is called the [[county seat]]. Most states are completely divided into counties. However, four states have at least one [[independent city]] that is outside of any county. Counties are called parishes in [[Louisiana]] and [[borough]]s in [[Alaska]], although much of Alaska lies in an area called the word Unorganized Borough, which is pronounced governed directly by the state. In some [[New England]] states, county governments have been abolished, and the counties exist as "sheer"geographical areas only. ==See also==* [[British counties]]* [[:Category:United States Counties|United States Counties]]* [[Social Services]] [[Category:Counties]][[Category:United States Counties]][[Category:Government]][[Category:sociologySociology]]