countess

C3O1U1N1T1E1S1S1
/ˈkaʊntɪs/

noun

The wife of a count or earl.

“Elizabeth Millicent Leveson-Gower is 24th Countess of Sutherland; her son will be the 25th Earl.”

Similar
earless
OriginAnglo-Norman cuntesse ← Old French contesse ← Latin comitissa →
Less commonScrabble 10
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Meanings

countess1

nouncountess (plural countesses)

plural countesses · alternative Countess

  1. The wife of a count or earl.
  2. A woman holding the rank of count or earl in her own right; a female holder of an earldom.

    Elizabeth Millicent Leveson-Gower is 24th Countess of Sutherland; her son will be the 25th Earl.

    Synonyms: earless

Countess2

nounCountess (plural Countesses)

plural Countesses

  1. Alternative letter-case form of countess.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA woman holding the rank of count or earl in her own right; a female holder of an earldom.

Similar
earless
Narrower
comtessecontessagräfin

Origin

  1. Latincomitissa
  2. Old Frenchcontesse
  3. Anglo-Normancuntesse
  4. Englishcountess

From Anglo-Norman cuntesse, Old French contesse, from Latin comitissa; equivalent to count + -ess. Doublet of contessa.

More words from Anglo-Norman, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian графи́ня
  • графи́ня (grafínja)wife of a count or earl
Catalan comtessa
  • comtessawife of a count or earl
Chinese Mandarin 伯爵夫人
  • 伯爵夫人 (bójué fūrén)wife of a count or earl
Czech hraběnka
  • hraběnkawife of a count or earl
Danish grevinde
  • grevindewife of a count or earl
Dutch gravin
  • gravinwife of a count or earl
Esperanto grafino
  • grafinowife of a count or earl
Finnish kreivitär
  • kreivitärwife of a count or earl
French comtesse
  • comtessewife of a count or earl
German Gräfin
  • Gräfinwife of a count or earl
Greek κόμισσα
  • κόμισσα (kómissa)wife of a count or earl
Hawaiian kauna wahine, kaunakeke
  • kauna wahinewife of a count or earl
  • kaunakekewife of a count or earl
Hebrew רוזנת
  • רוזנתwife of a count or earl
Hungarian grófnő
  • grófnőwife of a count or earl
Icelandic greifafrú, greifynja
  • greifafrúwife of a count or earl
  • greifynjawife of a count or earl
  • jarlsfrúwife of a count or earl
Irish cuntaois
  • cuntaoiswife of a count or earl
Italian contessa
  • contessawife of a count or earl
Japanese 伯爵婦人
  • 伯爵婦人 (hakushaku fujin)wife of a count or earl
Latin comitessa, cometissa
  • comitessawife of a count or earl
  • cometissawife of a count or earl
  • cometessawife of a count or earl
  • comitissawife of a count or earl
Latvian grāfiene
  • grāfienewife of a count or earl
Lithuanian grafienė
  • grafienėwife of a count or earl
Norwegian Bokmål grevinne
  • grevinnewife of a count or earl
Polish hrabina
  • hrabinawife of a count or earl
Portuguese condessa
  • condessawife of a count or earl
Romanian contesă
  • contesăwife of a count or earl
Russian графи́ня
  • графи́ня (grafínja)wife of a count or earl
Scottish Gaelic ban-iarla
  • ban-iarlawife of a count or earl
Slovak grófka
  • grófkawife of a count or earl
Spanish condesa
  • condesawife of a count or earl
Swedish grevinna
  • grevinnawife of a count or earl
Tagalog kondesa
  • kondesawife of a count or earl
Turkish kontes
  • konteswife of a count or earl
Ukrainian графи́ня
  • графи́ня (hrafýnja)wife of a count or earl
Vietnamese bá tước phu nhân
  • bá tước phu nhânwife of a count or earl
Yiddish גראַפֿין, גראַפֿיניע
  • גראַפֿין (grafin)wife of a count or earl
  • גראַפֿיניע (grafinye)wife of a count or earl
Cite this entry
APA

countess. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countess

MLA

“countess.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countess. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “countess,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countess.

Source: countess on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.