Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Shire \Shire\, n. [AS. sc[=i]re, sc[=i]r, a division, province,
   county. Cf. {Sheriff}.]
   1. 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.

            An indefinite number of these hundreds make up a
            county or shire.                      --Blackstone.

   2. A division of a State, embracing several contiguous
      townships; a county. [U. S.]

   Note: Shire is commonly added to the specific designation of
         a county as a part of its name; as, Yorkshire instead
         of York shire, or the shire of York; Berkshire instead
         of Berks shire. Such expressions as the county of
         Yorkshire, which in a strict sense are tautological,
         are used in England. In the United States the composite
         word is sometimes the only name of a county; as,
         Berkshire county, as it is called in Massachusetts,
         instead of Berks county, as in Pensylvania.

               The Tyne, Tees, Humber, Wash, Yare, Stour, and
               Thames separate the counties of Northumberland,
               Durham, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, etc. --Encyc.
                                                  Brit.

   {Knight of the shire}. See under {Knight}.

   {Shire clerk}, an officer of a county court; also, an under
      sheriff. [Eng.]

   {Shire mote} (Old. Eng. Law), the county court; sheriff's
      turn, or court. [Obs.] --Cowell. --Blackstone.

   {Shire reeve} (Old Eng. Law), the reeve, or bailiff, of a
      shire; a sheriff. --Burrill.

   {Shire town}, the capital town of a county; a county town.

   {Shire wick}, a county; a shire. [Obs.] --Holland.