cheshire

cheshire — noun

1. a region in northwest England that is one of the country's historic counties, wi

1.noun
Definition

a region in northwest England that is one of the country's historic counties, with the walled city of Chester as its main centre and a well-known tradition of dairy farming.

Example

Leila spent a long weekend exploring the villages of Cheshire with her friends.

collocation: exploring + [region] for travel contexts

The green hills of Cheshire stretch all the way to the border with Wales.

geographical description: hills + stretch to + border

Common collocations
  • the county of Cheshire
  • in Cheshire
  • from Cheshire
  • Cheshire countryside
  • Cheshire cheese

Grammar Patterns

Cheshire + verb (singular)

in / from / near + Cheshire

Usage Note

Always capitalised because it is a place name. Unlike many counties in Britain, Cheshire is normally used without the definite article: Cheshire is famous for its cheese (NOT the Cheshire). In formal written English it can appear as the county of Cheshire.

Common Mistakes

I visited the Cheshire last summer.
I visited Cheshire last summer.
County names in Britain do not take 'the' except in the phrase 'the county of Cheshire'.

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • the county of Cheshire
  • move to Cheshire
  • based in Cheshire

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld EnglishEnglish

The name Cheshire comes from the ancient Roman fort of Chester (from Latin 'castra', meaning 'camp' or 'fort'), combined with the Old English word 'scīr' (meaning a district or administrative area). The region has been recorded under that name since the late Anglo-Saxon period.