knight of the shire

noun

plural knights of the shire

1

: a knight selected by the freeholders to represent a shire in the House of Commons especially in medieval times

the knight of the shire was the connecting link between the baron and the shopkeeper

—T. B. Macaulay

2

: a parliamentary representative from a shire or county as distinguished from a representative of a city or a borough

the number of knights of the shire was increased to 159

—T. E. May

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

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