Counterparts of countesses in British peerage

EARLS

Think of the male noble rank just below a marquess, often associated with managing a shire in medieval England.

In British peerage, the male equivalent of a countess is an earl—they hold the same rank but with a different title. The clue plays on the idea of "counterparts," meaning the matching male role for a female noble title. Since "countess" is the feminine form of "count," the answer "earls" fits as the British term for that rank. It’s a straightforward definition without wordplay, just testing knowledge of aristocratic titles.