A viscount (/ˈvaɪkaʊnt/ ( listen) VY-kownt, for male[1]) or viscountess (/ˈvaɪkaʊntɪs/, for female[2]) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial position, and did not develop into a hereditary title until much later.[3] In the case of French viscounts, it is customary to leave the title untranslated as vicomte [vi.kɔ̃t] and vicomtesse.