province

[prov-ins]

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.

province

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• subprovince noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of province¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of province¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin prōvincia conquered territory

Example Sentences

The soft-spoken young villager from the mountains of southwestern Yunnan province told AFP how he and other workers were repeatedly beaten with electric rods and whips if they slacked or did not follow orders.

Read more on Barron's

In a softly lit boutique in the southern Chinese city of Meizhou, Guangdong province, 32-year-old Li Na scrolls through a display of artisanal leather goods.

Read more on Barron's

Videos on social media have emerged showing torrents of muddy water sweeping through the towns of La Ràpita and Santa Bàrbara in the Tarragona province, and moving everything in their path.

Read more on BBC

Earlier this month, police said they had opened a murder charge against an eight-year-old boy after he fatally shot his seven-year-old cousin with his father's firearm in Eastern Cape province.

Read more on BBC

The crash happened on Sunday night as the bus was moving through "a mountainous section" of the N1 highway in South Africa's Limpopo province, local transport officials said.

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Related Words

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