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Definition of province - 4 dictionary results

prov⋅ince

  [prov-ins]
Use province in a Sentence
–noun
1. an administrative division or unit of a country.
2. the provinces,
a. the parts of a country outside of the capital or the largest cities.
b. (in England) all parts of the country outside of London.
3. a country, territory, district, or region.
4. Geography. physiographic province.
5. a department or branch of learning or activity: the province of mathematics.
6. sphere or field of activity or authority, as of a person; office, function, or business: Such decisions do not lie within his province.
7. a major subdivision of British India.
8. an ecclesiastical territorial division, as that within which an archbishop or a metropolitan exercises jurisdiction.
9. History/Historical.
a. any of the North American colonies now forming major administrative divisions of Canada.
b. any of certain colonies of Great Britain which are now part of the U.S.
10. Roman History. a country or territory outside of Italy, brought under the ancient Roman dominion and administered by a governor sent from Rome.
11. Mining. an individual mineral-producing area.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < MF < L prōvincia province, official charge

Synonyms:
5. area.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To province
prov·ince   (prŏv'ĭns)   
n.  

  1. A territory governed as an administrative or political unit of a country or empire.

  2. A division of territory under the jurisdiction of an archbishop.

  3. provinces Areas of a country situated away from the capital or population center.

  4. A comprehensive area of knowledge, activity, or interest: a topic falling within the province of ancient history. See Synonyms at field.

  5. The range of one's proper duties and functions; scope or jurisdiction.

  6. Ecology An area of land, less extensive than a region, having a characteristic plant and animal population.

  7. Any of various lands outside Italy conquered by the Romans and administered by them as self-contained units.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin prōvincia.]
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

province 
c.1330, from O.Fr. province (13c.), from L. provincia "territory under Roman domination," usually explained as pro- "before" + vincere "to conquer" (see victor); but this does not suit the earliest L. usages. Provincial "of or belonging to a province" is from 1377; sense of "countrified" first recorded 1755. Provincialism in the political sense is attested from 1820.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

province

in Roman antiquity, a territorial subdivision of the Roman Empire-specifically, the sphere of action and authority of a Roman magistrate who held the imperium, or executive power. The name was at first applied to territories both in Italy and wherever else a Roman official exercised authority in the name of the Roman state. Later the name implied Roman possessions outside Italy from which tribute was required

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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