noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈkaʊntɪs/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:K AW1 N T AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The wife of a count or earl.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A woman holding the rank of count or earl in her own right; a female holder of an earldom.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Elizabeth Millicent Leveson-Gower is 24th Countess of Sutherland; her son will be the 25th Earl.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Alternative letter-case form of countess.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
female equivalent of a count or earl
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: Lady, noblewoman, peeress
History
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman cuntesse, Old French contesse, from Latin comitissa; equivalent to count + -ess. Doublet of contessa.
Across languages
Translations
57 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
կոմսուհի
(komsuhi)
— wife of a count or earl
Azerbaijani:
qrafinya
— wife of a count or earl
Belarusian:
графі́ня
(hrafínja)
— wife of a count or earl
Belarusian:
грапі́ня
(hrapínja)
— wife of a count or earl
Breton:
kontez
— wife of a count or earl
Bulgarian:
графи́ня
(grafínja)
— wife of a count or earl
Catalan:
comtessa
— wife of a count or earl
Chinese Mandarin:
伯爵夫人
(bójué fūrén)
— wife of a count or earl
Czech:
hraběnka
— wife of a count or earl
Danish:
grevinde
— wife of a count or earl
Dutch:
gravin
— wife of a count or earl
Esperanto:
grafino
— wife of a count or earl
Finnish:
kreivitär
— wife of a count or earl
French:
comtesse
— wife of a count or earl
Old French:
contesse
— wife of a count or earl
Galician:
condesa
— wife of a count or earl
German:
Gräfin
— wife of a count or earl
Greek:
κόμισσα
(kómissa)
— wife of a count or earl
Hawaiian:
kauna wahine
— wife of a count or earl
Hawaiian:
kaunakeke
— wife of a count or earl
Hebrew:
רוזנת
— wife of a count or earl
Hungarian:
grófnő
— wife of a count or earl
Icelandic:
greifafrú
— wife of a count or earl
Icelandic:
greifynja
— wife of a count or earl
Icelandic:
jarlsfrú
— wife of a count or earl
Irish:
cuntaois
— wife of a count or earl
Italian:
contessa
— wife of a count or earl
Japanese:
伯爵婦人
(hakushaku fujin)
— wife of a count or earl
Latin:
comitessa
— wife of a count or earl
Latin:
cometissa
— wife of a count or earl
Latin:
cometessa
— wife of a count or earl
Latin:
comitissa
— wife of a count or earl
Latvian:
grāfiene
— wife of a count or earl
Lithuanian:
grafienė
— wife of a count or earl
Macedonian:
грофица
(grofica)
— wife of a count or earl
Marathi:
काउन्टेस
(kāunṭes)
— wife of a count or earl
Norwegian Bokmål:
grevinne
— wife of a count or earl
Norwegian Nynorsk:
grevinne
— wife of a count or earl
Polish:
hrabina
— wife of a count or earl
Portuguese:
condessa
— wife of a count or earl
Romanian:
contesă
— wife of a count or earl
Russian:
графи́ня
(grafínja)
— wife of a count or earl
Scottish Gaelic:
ban-iarla
— wife of a count or earl
Serbo-Croatian:
грофица
— wife of a count or earl
Serbo-Croatian:
grofica
— wife of a count or earl
Sicilian:
cuntissa
— wife of a count or earl
Slovak:
grófka
— wife of a count or earl
Slovene:
grofica
— wife of a count or earl
Spanish:
condesa
— wife of a count or earl
Swedish:
grevinna
— wife of a count or earl
Tagalog:
kondesa
— wife of a count or earl
Turkish:
kontes
— wife of a count or earl
Ukrainian:
графи́ня
(hrafýnja)
— wife of a count or earl
Uzbek:
grafinya
— wife of a count or earl
Vietnamese:
bá tước phu nhân
— wife of a count or earl
Yiddish:
גראַפֿין
(grafin)
— wife of a count or earl
Yiddish:
גראַפֿיניע
(grafinye)
— wife of a count or earl