A viscount (/ˈvaɪkaʊnt/ VY-kownt, for male) or viscountess (/ˈvaɪkaʊntɪs/, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status, but historically deemed to convey a lower-middling rank. 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. In the case of French viscounts, it is customary to leave the title untranslated as vicomte.