PROVINCE

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin provincia Date: 14th century 1. a country or region brought under the control of the ancient Roman government, an administrative district or division of a country, all of a country except the metropolises, 2. a division of a country forming the jurisdiction of an archbishop or metropolitan, a territorial unit of a religious order, 3. a biogeographic division of less rank than a region, an area that exhibits essential continuity of geological history, 4. proper or appropriate function or scope ; sphere , a department of knowledge or activity, see: function