English
country
Country comes from Old French contree, from Vulgar Latin *(terra) contrāta ‘facing land’, from Latin contrā ‘against’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*komteros‘the other of the two who meet, opposite’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*komterādreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrā‘against’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*(terra) contrāta‘facing land’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400contree‘country’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500contre‘a region’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599country
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*komteros‘the other of the two who meet, opposite’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*komterādreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrā‘against’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*(terra) contrāta‘facing land’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400contree‘country’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500contre‘a region’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599country
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, Henry IV: “For all the country, in a general voice, Cried…”
A compound of *kom ‘with, along, at’ + *kom- ‘together’
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe ‘Deictic particle, here’
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’
Proto-Italic *kom ‘with, along, at’
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe ‘Deictic particle, here’
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’
Proto-Italic *kom ‘with, along, at’
Proto-Italic *kom- ‘together’
The story
Unrelated to county. By early 16th century the sense was applied mostly to rural areas, as opposed to towns and cities.
Linked words
through Latin contrā ‘against’
Today it means
noun The territory of a nation; a sovereign state or a region once independent and still distinct in institutions, language, etc.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *komteros / country