prov.

Noun

province (plural provinces)

1. A region of the earth or of a continent; a district or country.
   • […] we should find, as we do find, some groups of beings greatly, and some only slightly modified,—[…]—in the different great geographical provinces of the world.1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Geographical Distribution—continued”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, pages 408–409
2. An administrative subdivision of certain countries, including Canada and China.
   • Chowta-Zhin, who is ſaid to be a man of buſineſs and preciſion, and cautious of advancing facts, at the requeſt of Earl Macartney, delivered to him a ſtatement taken from one of the public officers in the capitol, of the inhabitants of the fifteen ancient provinces of China, or China proper, within...1798 October 20 [1797], “CALCULATIONS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE GLOBE.”, in The Rural Magazine, volume I, number 36, Newark, →OCLC, page 2, column 1

   Synonyms:

   circuit, tao, dao, route, lu

3. (Ancient-Rome, Roman-Empire, historical) An area outside Italy which is administered by a Roman governor or prefect.
   • He reminded his audience of events in 88BC, when the same Mithridates invaded the Roman province of Asia, on the western coast of Turkey.2008 November 28, Mark Brown, The Guardian

   Synonyms:

   eparchy

4. An area under the jurisdiction of an archbishop, typically comprising a number of adjacent dioceses.
   • In 1309, neither the Archbishop of Canterbury nor his suffragans would attend in Parliament while the Archbishop of York had the cross borne erect before him in the province of Canterbury.1838 January, The Churchman; […], volume 4, number 1, page 44
5. An area under the jurisdiction of a provincial within a monastic order.
6. (in plural, with-definite-article) The parts of a country outside its national capital.
   • To-day the first part of the new Indian Constitution comes into force with the granting of a large measure of autonomy to the provinces.1937 April 1, The Guardian

   Synonyms:

   countryside, flyover country

See all 9 meanings of province