Category:Viscount

Vis"count`, n. Etym: [oe. vicounte, of. visconte, vescunte, f. Vicomte, ll. vicecomes; l. vice (see vice, a.) + comes a companion, Ll., a count. See count.]

1. (o. Eng. Law)

Defn: an officer who formerly supplied the place of the count, or Earl; the sheriff of the county.

2. A nobleman of the fourth rank, next in order below an earl and Next above a baron; also, his degree or title of nobility. See peer, N., 3. [eng.] Chaucer.