What is shire mean?

Answer 1

Tolkien borrowed the word from Old English, where its meaning was roughly the same as the modern english word county or the french word parish refering to a smaller part of a state or country that has its own local government.

Answer 2

The shire is the home of hobbits. Most of the homes are holes in hills, but these are nice holes, not dark dirty ones. Most of the hobbits that live in the Shire are farmers and have never ventured outside of the Shire, and therefore know nothing about the world outside of their humble dwelling.

Answer 3

In the UK, a "shire" was the old term for what is now called a "county". The two are synonymous; the word change was introduced at the time of the Norman invasion.The word "shire" is mostly archaic now, but still persists in placenames ("Berkshire"). Also, the modern word "sheriff" is derived from "shire-reeve" ... the reeve (local administrative official) in charge of a shire.