lancashire
n. C / Un. a county in the northwest of England. It is also the name of a white, crumbly cheese that comes from this area.
n. a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England. Often used attributively to describe regional products, most notably a crumbly cow's milk cheese.
We spent our summer holiday hiking in Lancashire.
The recipe specifically calls for Lancashire cheese because it melts more smoothly than other crumbly varieties.
Historically, Lancashire was a global centre of the cotton industry during the Industrial Revolution, with its damp climate providing ideal conditions for spinning and weaving.
From Middle English Lancastreschire, from Lancastre (“Lancaster”) + schire (“shire, county”). By surface analysis, Lanca(ster) + -shire.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
When referring to the county, it is a proper noun and uncountable; when referring to the cheese, it can be countable in the sense of 'a variety of Lancashire'.
Last updated May 3, 2026