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guberniya

American  
[goo-ber-nee-uh, goo-byer-nyi-yuh] / guˈbɛr ni ə, guˈbyɛr nyɪ yə /

noun

  1. (in the Soviet Union) an administrative division of the volosts, smaller than a district.

  2. (in Russia before 1917) an administrative division equivalent to the province.


guberniya British  
/ ɡuˈbjɛrnɪjə /

noun

  1. a territorial division of imperial Russia

  2. a territorial and administrative subdivision in the former Soviet Union

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of guberniya

From Russian gubérniya, probably derivative of gubernátor “governor” (from Polish, from Latin ), by analogy with imperátor “emperor,” impériya; “empire”; see governor, emperor, empire