A viscount or viscountess is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscountcy.

Count is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Especially in earlier medieval periods the term often implied not only a certain status, but also that the count had specific responsibilities or offices. The etymologically related English term "county" denoted the territories associated with some countships, but not all.