Berkshire

From Middle English Barrokschire, Berchesire, Barrokshyre, Berrucsire, from Old English Bearrocsċīr. The first element is possibly from Proto-Brythonic *barrọg, perhaps meaning “hilly” (compare *barros (“hill, peak, top”)) + Old English sċīr (“shire, county”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːk.ʃə/, /-ˌʃɪə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbɜɹk.ʃəɹ/, /ˈbɑɹk-/, /-ˌʃɪəɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)kʃə(ɹ), -ɑː(ɹ)kʃɪə(ɹ), -ɜː(ɹ)kʃə(ɹ), -ɜː(ɹ)kʃɪə(ɹ)

• Audio (UK):

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• Hyphenation: Berk‧shire

Berkshire (abbreviation Berks or Brks.)

1. An inland county of England, bounded by Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Greater London and Wiltshire.
   • 2005, David Langford, The Sex Column and Other Misprints, page 66:

     My convention diary is unusually disjointed, since I was mingily commuting from Berkshire rather than pay £65 per night for a single room.

2. Numerous places in the United States:
   1. A community in Sandy Hook, Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
   2. A town in Tioga County, New York.
   3. An unincorporated community and township in Delaware County, Ohio.
   4. A town in Franklin County, Vermont.

Berkshire (plural Berkshires)

1. A breed of pig from Berkshire county. [mid 1700s]
2. (rail transport) A steam locomotive of the 2-8-4 wheel arrangement.
   • 1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co.:

     Erie, always an interesting road to watch, fortified itself in the late '20's with the largest roster of Berkshires in the land, and these engines were easily able to sustain the road until dieselization …

• “Berkshire”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “Berkshire”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Berkshire”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “Berkshire”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Berkshire”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Berkshire, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.