# province

Pronunciation: say "PROV-ins" US /ˈpɹɑv.ɪns/, UK /ˈpɹɒv.ɪns/

## Noun

1. An administrative subdivision within certain countries, such as Canada and China.
   - Simple: A large part of a country that has its own local government, as in Canada or China.
   - _Ontario is the most populous province in Canada._
   - _China's provinces vary widely in size and population._
2. The field of activity, knowledge, or responsibility that rightly belongs to a particular person or subject.
   - Simple: The subject or job that belongs to a certain person or group.
   - _Questions of grammar fall within the province of linguists._
   - _Such decisions were once the exclusive province of the king._
3. All the regions of a country that lie beyond its capital, seen as a whole.
   - Simple: The parts of a country that lie away from the main capital city.
   - _Newspapers in the capital rarely cover what happens in the provinces._
   - _Theater companies from the capital tour the provinces every summer, playing in town halls and small opera houses._
4. A part of the earth or of a continent, such as a district or a country.
   - Simple: A large area of land, such as a region or district.
   - _Travelers described a fertile province between the mountains and the sea._
   - _Ancient maps divided the continent into named provinces and territories._
5. An area under the authority of an archbishop, usually made up of several neighboring dioceses.
   - Simple: A church area led by an archbishop, made up of several smaller districts.
   - _The archbishop called a council of all the bishops in his province._
   - _Church law set clear boundaries between neighboring provinces._
6. A major region defined by shared geologic features and a common geologic history.
   - Simple: A large area of land that shares the same kind of rocks and geologic history.
   - _The basin forms part of a larger igneous province stretching across the region._
   - _Several oil-bearing provinces lie beneath the continental shelf._
7. An area within a monastic order under the jurisdiction of a provincial.
   - Simple: A group of religious houses in one area, led by a senior monk called a provincial.
   - _The new provincial took charge of every friary in the province._
   - _The order divided its monasteries into several provinces across Europe._
8. Under the Roman Republic and Empire, any territory beyond Italy that was governed by a governor or prefect sent from Rome. *(dialectal, Roman Empire)*
   - Simple: In ancient Rome, a land outside Italy that was ruled by a Roman governor.
   - _Caesar governed the province with an iron hand and sent its taxes back to Rome._
   - _Rome's wealthiest provinces lay along the Mediterranean coast._

## Origin

From Middle English provynce, borrowed via Anglo-Norman and Old French province from Latin prōvincia, which seemingly corresponds to prō- and vinciō. It replaced the Old English boldġetæl.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/province (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).