-shire

See shire.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /-ʃə/, /-ʃɪə/, /-ʃaɪə/ (see usage notes)
• (General American) IPA^(key): /-ʃɚ/, /-ʃɪ(ə)ɹ/, /-ʃaɪɚ/ (see usage notes)

-shire

1. A combining form used in the names of British counties.

While multiple pronunciations are given above for this suffix, they are not freely interchangeable. In normal usage, most counties take /-ʃə(ɹ)/, though /-ʃɪə(ɹ)/ [ʃɪː] is also possible. However, in the names of some Scottish counties, it is sometimes pronounced as /-ʃaɪə(ɹ)/ (Scottish English /-ʃʌɪɹ/), reflecting the local pronunciation. Speakers of Scottish English may extend this pronunciation to all county names; it is also quite common in American English for county names (but not for American locales named after them).

• “-shire”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

• Hersi, Hires, Hiser, Sheri, Shier, heirs, hi-res, hires, reish, shier