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one of a Scottish breed of hardy dairy cattle having long, curving horns.
Also called Ayr. a historic county in SW Scotland.
Historical Examples

Great numbers of cattle, sheep and pigs are raised for the market, and the Ayrshire horse is in high repute.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1 Various

The persons here named were all proprietors of lands in Ayrshire.
The Works of John Knox, Vol. 1 (of 6) John Knox

I have noted more improvement in farming in Ayrshire in the interval than in any other county.
The Reminiscences of an Irish Land Agent S.M. Hussey

I regret that you are gone to the east country, as I am to be in Ayrshire in about a fortnight.
The Letters of Robert Burns Robert Burns

This is observed at the coal-mine of New Cumnock in Ayrshire.
The World Before the Deluge Louis Figuier

He stood for Ayrshire, turning back from York when the dissolution was announced.
James Boswell William Keith Leask

I must reserve what I have to tell of Glasgow and Ayrshire for yet another letter.
Letters of a Traveller William Cullen Bryant

Kilmarnock, in Ayrshire, is the chief seat of the carpet manufacture in Scotland.
Up To Date Business Various

I received a telegram recently to call and see a wealthy manufacturer’s mother from Ayrshire, who was stricken with paralysis.
Gathering Jewels James Knowles and Matilda Darroch Knowles

From Nithsdale he made his way back to native Ayrshire and his family at Mossgiel.
Robert Burns Principal Shairp.

noun
a historical county of SW Scotland, formerly part of Strathclyde region (1975–96), now divided into the council areas of North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and East Ayrshire
any one of a hardy breed of brown-and-white dairy cattle