erldom

Middle English

Alternative forms

• eerldom, erldam, erldome, erledom, erledome
• herldam (East Anglia); eorldam, eorldom, irldom (West Midland); erledame (Promptorium Parvulorum)
• erldwme, eryldome (Early Scots)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English eorldōm; equivalent to erl (“count, earl”) +‎ -dom (“-dom”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːrldoːm/, /ˈɛrl-/
• IPA^(key): /ˈeːrldum/, /ˈeːrldam/, /ˈɛrl-/ (with vowel reduction)

Noun

erldom (plural erldoms)

1. A county or earldom; a region supervised or ruled by an earl.
2. The position of being an earl; earlship.
3. (rare) One of the traditional English counties.

Descendants

• English: earldom
• Middle Scots: erldome, erledome
  • Scots: yerldom

References

• “ē̆rldọ̄̆m, -dam, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 30 December 2018.