earless
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɪə̯ləs/
ipa: /ɪɹləs/
ipa: /iɹləs/
ipa: /ɜːlɛs/
ipa: /ɝlɛs/
ipa: /ɪə̯ləs/
ipa: /ɪɹləs/
ipa: /iɹləs/
Forms: form: earlesses
form: Earless
Etymology: From earl + -ess.
Senses: examples: text: “Don’t you think you could catch this Earl (for Doctor Willett, and he never told a lie in his life, says he is so). You know Arley hasn’t much tact. An earl is better than to be the rich Mrs. Haverhill! An earl’s wife is a duchess, or at least, an earless—” / “A countess, ’ma!”
ref: 1870, Joseph Holt Ingraham, Annie Temple; Or, The Bankrupt's Heiress: A Home Romance, page 80:
text: “You see I don’t knew much about titles, as we have only the royal family in Honolulu—she is called an Earless, I suppose.” / “No, a countess. An earl in the English peerage is of the same rank as a count in some of the continental countries. When I come into the title, if I am married, my wife will be Countess of Somerset.”
ref: 1900, Linn Boyd Porter, A Sugar Princess, page 240:
text: Here it’s almost indecent to talk of love before marriage, and nearly as bad after, if you’re referring to your husband. And suppose that Céline accepted him, just . . . well, just to be a . . . what-do-you-call-it—earless?” / “Countess.”
ref: 1914, Francis Prevost, The Uncertain Glory, Lane, John, page 137:
text: “And if you had,” he puzzled it out, “you would be the—the Earless of Axminster.” / She gave a delighted gurgle of laughter. / “Countess,” she corrected him.
ref: 1926, The Strand Magazine, volume 72, page 234:
text: Penny had apparently grown as sick of Southwark Cathedral as had Melrose of his earldom. “Then that means your wife can’t be—what? An earless?” / “Countess.”
ref: 1984, Martha Grimes, The Dirty Duck, Scribner's, →ISBN:
text: Finally, Tristan blurted, “Does this mean you’ll be an earless Sophy? No, that can’t be right.” / “Idiot boy,” Caroline pronounced with a scathing look. “There’s no such thing as an earless. Sophy will be a countess. The Countess of Leyburn.”
ref: 1996, Lois Stewart, A Marriage of Convenience, Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 86:
text: His wife is not an Earless, but a Countess (sounds better, anyway).
ref: 1999, Carol Turkington, “Earl/Countess”, in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cultural Etiquette, Alpha Books, →ISBN:
text: “An earl?” / “An earless,” she answered confidently. / Dewhurst blanched. / “No, no!” she hurriedly added, “I meant an earlette.” / He clutched one of the bedposts, knuckles turning white. “A countess,” he said so quietly she could hardly hear him.
ref: 2006 January 31, Shana Galen, Pride and Petticoats, →ISBN, page 76:
text: ‘I’m sorry,’ she gulped, ‘but you should have seen Lady Stapleford’s face when the Earless greeted you first! And then Richenda nearly had a cow when you said the house was small.’ / ‘Countess,’ I said. ‘Not Earless.’
ref: 2013 July 4, Caroline Dunford, “Chapter Ten: The Court”, in A Death In The Wedding Party: A Euphemia Martins Mystery, →ISBN:
text: “Ho, yes!” exclaimed Janey. “To see dear Diana’s face would be a prize itself! Oh, H, think of it: you an earless—” / “Countess,” Kat corrected her.
ref: 2020 May, Sarah Burton, The Strange Adventures of H, Legend Press, →ISBN:
glosses: A countess (a female holder of an earldom or the wife of an earl).