viscount meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

viscount

nounalso spelled Viscount

/ˈvaɪ.kaʊnt/

Etymology From Anglo-Norman viscounte, from Medieval Latin vicecomes, from Latin vice + comes. Equivalent to vice- + count. Doublet of vicecomes and vicomte.

A member of the peerage, above a baron but below a count or earl.

Biology, Entomology, Natural sciences Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Tanaecia. Other butterflies in this genus are called earls and counts.

Derived terms: viscountcy, viscounty
Related terms: viscountess, vicecomital, vicontiel, viscomital, baron, don, duke, earl, lord, marquess, prince

Viscount

noun

The title of a viscount.

On Tuesday the King gave audiences to the Earl of Albemarle, Viscounts Melbourne and Althorp, Lord Hill, and Sir James Graham.1833 February 16, “Court and Fashionable Life. Their Majesties.”, in The Court Journal, number 199, London: […] Henry Colburn. […] W. Thomas, […], page 97, column 1: