shire

Etymology

From Middle English shire, from Old English scir, from Proto-West Germanic *skīru.

noun

1. Physical area administered by a sheriff.
2. Former administrative area of Britain; a county.
   Yorkshire is the largest shire in England.
3. (UK, colloquial) The general area in which a person lives or comes from, used in the context of travel within the United Kingdom.
   When are you coming back to the shire?
4. A rural or outer suburban local government area of Australia.
5. A shire horse.

verb

1. To (re)constitute as one or more shires or counties.
   Although he still managed formally to shire the province in the summer and autumn of 1585, his plan to establish a presidential government and complete the integration of Ulster into English Ireland met with royal indifference. 1985, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, page 291
   The province was shired into nine counties, […] 2012, James Lydon, The Making of Ireland: From Ancient Times to the Present, page 160
   County Longford was shired in 1586