a county of southern England on the English Channel
"The coastal town of Bournemouth lies within Hampshire, a historic county in southern England situated on the English Channel."
British breed of hornless dark-faced domestic sheep
"The farmer admired the distinctive black faces and woolly coats of his prized Hampshire sheep grazing in the field."
A maritime county in the south of England bordered by Berkshire, Surrey, West Sussex, Dorset, Wiltshire, the English Channel and the Solent separating it from the Isle of Wight; the county town is Winchester.
"The historic county of Hampshire lies on the south coast of England, separated from the Isle of Wight by the Solent and bordered by Dorset to the west."
Inherited from Middle English Hampteschire, from Old English Hāmtūnsċīr, from Hāmtūn ("Southampton") + sċīr ("shire"). For the development of epenthetic /p/, compare Thompson. The community in Prince Edward Island is named after the county in England. The name was inspired by nearby Wiltshire.