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district - 7 dictionary results

dis⋅trict

  [dis-trikt]
Use district in a Sentence
–noun
1. a division of territory, as of a country, state, or county, marked off for administrative, electoral, or other purposes.
2. a region or locality: the theater district; the Lake District.
3. British. a subdivision of a county or a town.
4. the District, the District of Columbia; Washington, D.C.
–verb (used with object)
5. to divide into districts.
Origin:
1605–15; (< F) < ML distrīctus exercise of justice, (area of) jurisdiction, deriv. of L distringere to stretch out (see distrain ), equiv. to di- di- 2 + strig- (base of stringere to bind, tie) + -tus suffix of verbal action
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dis·trict   (dĭs'trĭkt)   
n.  
  1. A division of an area, as for administrative purposes.
  2. A region or locality marked by a distinguishing feature: went to the lake district for their vacation.
tr.v.   dis·trict·ed, dis·trict·ing, dis·tricts
To mark off or divide into districts.

[French, from Old French, from Medieval Latin districtus, from Latin, past participle of distringere, to hinder; see distrain.]
dis'trict·wide' adv. & adj.
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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District

Dis"trict\, a. [L. districtus, p. p.] Rigorous; stringent; harsh. [Obs.]

Punishing with the rod of district severity. --Foxe.

District

Dis"trict\, n. [LL. districtus district, fr. L. districtus, p. p. of distringere: cf. F. district. See Distrain.]

1. (Feudal Law) The territory within which the lord has the power of coercing and punishing.

2. A division of territory; a defined portion of a state, town, or city, etc., made for administrative, electoral, or other purposes; as, a congressional district, judicial district, land district, school district, etc.

To exercise exclusive legislation . . . over such district not exceeding ten miles square. --The Constitution of the United States.

3. Any portion of territory of undefined extent; a region; a country; a tract.

These districts which between the tropics lie. --Blackstone.

Congressional district. See under Congressional.

District attorney, the prosecuting officer of a district or district court.

District court, a subordinate municipal, state, or United States tribunal, having jurisdiction in certain cases within a judicial district.

District judge, one who presides over a district court.

District school, a public school for the children within a school district. [U.S.]

Syn: Division; circuit; quarter; province; tract; region; country.

District

Dis"trict\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Districted; p. pr. & vb. n. Districting.] To divide into districts or limited portions of territory; as, legislatures district States for the choice of representatives.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : district
Spanish: distrito,
German: der Distrikt,
Japanese: 地区
More Translations »

district 
1611, from Fr. district, from M.L. districtus "restraining of offenders, jurisdiction," then under the feudal system "area of jurisdiction," from pp. stem of L. distringere "hinder, detain" (see distress).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: dis·trict
Function: noun
: a territorial division (as of a nation, state, county, or city) for administrative, judicial, electoral, or other purposes: as a : an administrative unit esp. of a town or city established for the performance of a special governmental function district> district> b : CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT c : one of the divisions of the United States or of the individual states served by a particular federal or state court —see also the JUDICIAL SYSTEM in the back matter
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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