province

American  

[prov-ins] / ˈprɒv ɪns /

noun

1. an administrative division or unit of a country.

2. the provinces,

   1. the parts of a country outside of the capital or the largest cities.

   2. (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.

   Synonyms:

   area

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.

   1. any of the North American colonies now forming major administrative divisions of Canada.

   2. 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.

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province British  

/ ˈprɒvɪns /

noun

1. a territory governed as a unit of a country or empire

2. a district, territory, or region

3. (plural) those parts of a country lying outside the capital and other large cities and regarded as outside the mainstream of sophisticated culture

4. ecology a subdivision of a region, characterized by a particular fauna and flora

5. an area or branch of learning, activity, etc

6. the field or extent of a person's activities or office

7. RC Church Church of England an ecclesiastical territory, usually consisting of several dioceses, and having an archbishop or metropolitan at its head

8. a major administrative and territorial subdivision of a religious order

9. history a region of the Roman Empire outside Italy ruled by a governor from Rome

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Other Word Forms

• subprovince noun

Etymology

Origin of province

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin prōvincia “province, official charge”

Example Sentences

The last outbreak, in the central province of Kasai, started on August 20, when a 34-year-old pregnant woman was admitted to hospital.

From Barron's

The floods, which were caused by a rare cyclone that had formed over the Malacca Strait, have hit three provinces and impacted some 1.4 million people, according to the government's disaster agency.

From BBC

China is Laos' dominant economic partner through infrastructure investments including a railway linking Vientiane and Kunming, in Yunnan province, and a wider economic corridor.

From Barron's

Two vessels sank in the rough seas, a fishing boat in Khanh Hoa province and a smaller raft in Lam Dong, according to the environment ministry.

From Barron's

Across the 10 provinces hit by flooding, more than 160 people have been killed, the government said on Saturday.

From BBC

Related Words

• colony
• county
• department
• district
• part
• region
• territory
• zone