knight of the shire
noun
plural knights of the shire
1
: a knight selected by the freeholders to represent a shire in the House of Commons especially in medieval times
the knight of the shire was the connecting link between the baron and the shopkeeper—T. B. Macaulay
2
: a parliamentary representative from a shire or county as distinguished from a representative of a city or a borough
the number of knights of the shire was increased to 159—T. E. May
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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