Oh, dude, it's like super simple. So, a woman is to a countess as an earl is to a countess. Countess is the female equivalent of both earl and woman. It's like a fancy title swap party, but with less dancing and more tea drinking.
An earl is male. The equivalent title for a woman is 'countess'. Since earl is an English word it does not have a gender. The french word for an earl is un comte, the word for a countess is une comtesse.
The wife or widow of an Earl is called a Countess, as is the wife or widow of a Count. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary 7th Edition.
In a heirarchy, an Earl is the equivalent to a count, so Man is to Woman as Earl is to Countess.
They are known as the Earl and Countess
Countess is the opposite gender for earl.(I think).
The wife of an Earl is called a Countess.
Earl
The mother of an earl is typically referred to as a "countess." In British nobility, the title of countess is given to the wife of an earl, but it can also refer to a woman who holds the title in her own right, often inherited. In some cases, if she has a separate title, she may be addressed by that title instead.
A countess.
An Earl or Count
"Countess".
If a woman gained that title by marriage, then her husband is a count. If she holds that title in her own right, then her husband is not a count. A count is the equivalent of an earl. A countess is the wife or widow of a count in the nobility of continental Europe or of an earl in the British peerage. A countess may also have that rank in her own right by heredity. Keep in mind that the rules may change in different countries regarding the marriage between a titled woman and an untitled man.