Countryside
/ˈkaʊn.tri.saɪd/noun
The land and small settlements outside towns and cities.
Did you know?The word is built from a legal-administrative unit, not a pastoral dream: it originally referred to the land associated with a county, then broadened into the rural world we picture today.
Etymological Timeline
Old French / Medieval Latin
Latin
comitatus
“A county; the jurisdiction of a count or earl.”
Old French
French
conté / cunte
“A county, district, or territory ruled by a count.”
Middle English
English
countree
“A region, district, or land; later also the land outside towns.”
16th Century
English
country side
“The land of a county; rural districts outside towns.”
Modern English
English
countryside
“Rural land and villages outside cities and large towns.”