countryside

coun·try·side
C3O1U1N1T1R1Y4S1I1D2E1
US, UK/ˈkʌn.tɹiˌsaɪd/British, Southern, Standard/ˈkʌn.tɹɪjˌsɑjd/Northern England/ˈkʊn.tɹiˌsaɪd/Scotland/ˈkʌn.tɾeˌsʌɪd/

noun

An area located outside of towns and cities; an area that is not urban or suburban; a rural area.

“We live in the Swedish countryside.”

OriginEnglish side ← Middle English side ← Old English sīde →
CommonScrabble 17
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Meanings

nouncountryside (countable and uncountable, plural countrysides)

plural countrysides

  1. countableuncountableAn area located outside of towns and cities; an area that is not urban or suburban; a rural area.

    From toads to towpaths, the unsung and committed efforts of our rural volunteers play a very large role in keeping our countryside looking how we all want it to look. Let's salute them.

    2026 June 28, John Craven, “This unsung, unpaid army of workers is vital for rural Britain”, in BBC Countryfile, number 243, page 21
    2 more examples

    From November 28 to December 8, 1958, the CCP Central Committee held its sixth plenum in Wuhan, Hopei^([sic – meaning Hupei]), and at the end of the session it issued a revealing resolution that declared there had been some misconception about the system and that party committees throughout the countryside should make full use of the five months from December 1958 to April 1959 to tidy up the communes.

    1968, Lucian W. Pye, “The Political Process in Action: The Communes”, in The Spirit of Chinese Politics: A Psychocultural Study of the Authority Crisis in Political Development, M.I.T. Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 203

    When rewilding plans were first revealed, critics of Scotland’s concentrated land ownership – half of the Scottish countryside is owned by around 450 people – expressed fears that Glenfeshie might become a reservation for the rich, but these have been partially allayed by letting ordinary hikers walk across the glens for free.

    2020 February 25, Christopher de Bellaigue, “The end of farming?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 06 Jan 2026
  2. countableuncountableSuch part of a larger area.

    We live in the Swedish countryside.

  3. countableuncountableA rural landscape.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
province

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Proto-Italic*komteros
  6. Proto-Italic*komterād
  7. Latincontrā
  8. Vulgar Latin*(terra) contrāta
  9. Old Frenchcontree
  10. Middle Englishcontre
  11. Englishcountry
  12. Proto-Indo-European*seh₁-
  13. Proto-Germanic*sīdaz
  14. Proto-Germanic*sīdǭ
  15. Old Englishsīde
  16. Middle Englishside
  17. Englishside
  18. Englishcountryside

From country + -side.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans platteland, landelike gebied
  • plattelandarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • landelike gebiedarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • plattelanda rural landscape
  • landelike gebieda rural landscape
Ancient Greek ὕπαιθρος, ὕπαιθρον
  • ὕπαιθρος (húpaithros)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • ὕπαιθρον (húpaithron)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • ὕπαιθρος (húpaithros)a rural landscape
  • ὕπαιθρον (húpaithron)a rural landscape
Arabic رِيف
  • رِيف (rīf)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Bulgarian се́лска ме́стност, се́ло
  • се́лска ме́стност (sélska méstnost)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • се́ло (sélo)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • се́лски пейза́ж (sélski pejzáž)a rural landscape
Catalan camp, camp
  • camparea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • campa rural landscape
Chinese Mandarin 農村 /农村, 鄉下 /乡下
  • 農村 /农村 (nóngcūn)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • 鄉下 /乡下 (xiāngxia)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • 農村 /农村 (nóngcūn)a rural landscape
  • 田園 /田园 (tiányuán)a rural landscape
Czech venkov
  • venkovarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Danish land, landdistrikt
  • landarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • landdistriktarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Dutch platteland, buitengebied
  • plattelandarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • buitengebiedarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • plattelanda rural landscape
Esperanto kamparo
  • kamparoarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Estonian küla, maa
  • külaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • maaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • maa-asulaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Finnish maaseutu, maa
  • maaseutuarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • maaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • maalaismaisemaa rural landscape
  • maaseutumaisemaa rural landscape
French campagne, arrière-pays
  • campagnearea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • arrière-paysarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • paysagearea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • campagnea rural landscape
German Land
  • Landarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Greek ύπαιθρος, εξοχή
  • ύπαιθρος (ýpaithros)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • εξοχή (exochí)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • ύπαιθρος (ýpaithros)a rural landscape
  • εξοχή (exochí)a rural landscape
Hindi देहात
  • देहात (dehāt)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Hungarian vidék
  • vidékarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Irish tuath, taobh tíre
  • tuatharea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • taobh tírearea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • tírarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Italian campagna, campagna
  • campagnaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • campagnaa rural landscape
Japanese 田舎
  • 田舎 (inaka)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Korean 시골, 농촌
  • 시골 (sigol)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • 농촌 (nongchon)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • 시골 (sigol)a rural landscape
  • 농촌 (nongchon)a rural landscape
Latin rūs, rūs
  • rūsarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • rūsa rural landscape
Latvian lauki
  • laukiarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Lithuanian kaimavietė, užmiestis
  • kaimavietėarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • užmiestisarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Norwegian Bokmål landsbygd, provins
  • landsbygdarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • provinsarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • landa rural landscape
  • landeta rural landscape
Polish wieś, krajobraz wiejski
  • wieśarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • krajobraz wiejskia rural landscape
Portuguese roça, interior
  • roçaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • interiorarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • campoa rural landscape
  • campanhaa rural landscape
Romanian sat
  • sata rural landscape
Russian се́льская ме́стность, дере́вня
  • се́льская ме́стность (sélʹskaja méstnostʹ)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • дере́вня (derévnja)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • село́ (seló)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • се́льский пейза́ж (sélʹskij pejzáž)a rural landscape
  • дере́вня (derévnja)a rural landscape
  • село́ (seló)a rural landscape
Scottish Gaelic dùthaich, dùthaich
  • dùthaicharea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • dùthaicha rural landscape
Slovak vidiek
  • vidiekarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Spanish campo, campaña
  • campoarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • campañaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • campiñaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • provinciaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • campoa rural landscape
  • campiñaa rural landscape
Swahili mashamba
  • mashambaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Swedish landsbygd, landsbygd
  • landsbygdarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • landsbygda rural landscape
  • landa rural landscape
  • glesbygda rural landscape
Tagalog probinsiya, probinsiya
  • probinsiyaarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • probinsiyaa rural landscape
Tamil நாட்டுப்புறம், நாடு
  • நாட்டுப்புறம் (nāṭṭuppuṟam)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • நாடு (nāṭu)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Thai ชนบท
  • ชนบท (chon-ná-bòt)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Turkish kır, kır
  • kırarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • kıra rural landscape
Ukrainian село́, сільська́ місце́вість
  • село́ (seló)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • сільська́ місце́вість (silʹsʹká miscévistʹ)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Urdu دیہات, دیہی عِلاقَہ
  • دیہات (dehāt)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • دیہی عِلاقَہ (dehī 'ilāqa)area outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Vietnamese miền quê, vùng quê
  • miền quêarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • vùng quêarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
  • nông thônarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area
Welsh cefn gwlad
  • cefn gwladarea outside of towns and cities, or such part of a larger area

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

sidecountry
Cite this entry
APA

countryside. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countryside

MLA

“countryside.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countryside. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “countryside,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countryside.

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