Definition of "countess" []

• A woman holding the title of count or earl. (noun)
• The wife or widow of a count in various European countries. (noun)
• The wife or widow of an earl in Great Britain. (noun)
• Used as a title for such a noblewoman. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Contessa is a title countess and so I saw her first as a titled adult, then I read that she's been adopted."
• "Christianity is a spiritual-semantic meme that has evolved in countess fascinating ways, and has been exploited by a plethora of power structures."
• "An African American Jewish woman educated by a countess from the age of seven, for at least a decade this “Dark Lady of the Sonnets” was mistress to the man in charge of the English Theater."