reduced from Old English Hamtunscir; named for the city of Southampton, which originally was simply Hamtun. Norman scribes mangled the county name to Hauntunescire, later Hantescire, hence the abbrev. Hants.
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Definitions of Hampshire from WordNet
Hampshire (n.)
a county of southern England on the English Channel;
Hampshire (n.)
British breed of hornless dark-faced domestic sheep;