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Definition of Provencal - 3 dictionary results

Pro⋅ven⋅çal

  [proh-vuhn-sahl, prov-uhn-; Fr. praw-vahn-sal]
Use Provencal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to Provence, its people, or their language.
–noun
2. a native or inhabitant of Provence.
3. Also called Occitan. a Romance language once widely spoken in southern France, still in use in some rural areas. Abbreviation: Pr, Pr., Prov. Compare langue d'oc.
4. the dialect of Provençal used in Provence.
Origin:
1580–90; < MF < L prōvinciālis provincial. See Provence, -al 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Pro·ven·çal   (prō'vän-säl', prŏv'ən-)   
adj.  Of or relating to Provence or its people, language, or culture.
n.  

  1. The Romance language of Provence.

  2. pl. Pro·ven·çals or Pro·ven·çaux (-sō') A native or inhabitant of Provence.


[French, from Latin prōvinciālis, from prōvincia, province.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Provencal 
1589, from Fr. Provençal, from Provence, from L. provincia "province" (see province); the southern part of ancient Gaul was technically the province of Gallia Narbonensis, but it came under Roman rule long before the rest of Gaul and as the Romans considered it the province par excellence they familiarly called it (nostra) provincia "our province." In ref. to a style of cooking, attested from 1841.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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