I. prəˈvinchəl, prōˈ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: in sense 1, from Middle English, from Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French, from Medieval Latin provincialis, from provincia ecclesiastical province + Latin -alis -al; in other senses, from Latin provincialis, from provincia province + -alis -al — more at province
1. sometimes capitalized : a religious superior in the Roman Catholic Church who has direction under the general of his order of all religious houses in a province of the order
2.
a. : one living in or coming from a province
delegations of provincials — Robert Graves
specifically : a soldier recruited from a province (as a Roman province or an American colony before the Revolution) — usually used in plural
3500 provincials … moved north against Crown Point — Arthur Pound
b. : a person of local or restricted interests or outlook
the true provincial ' s attachment to a region — Milton Rugoff
c. : one who exhibits markedly the special characteristics (as of speech and customs) of a section of a country
classifies the four novelists as provincials — James Gray
d. : a person lacking the polish and refinement of urban society
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from provincial, adjective
1.
a. : of or relating to a province
a provincial government
a provincial dialect
our greater provincial libraries — Notes & Queries
b. obsolete : having the subordinate relationship of a province
the aforesaid country … now provincial to Denmark — William Warner
2. : confined to a province or region : limited in scope : narrow , sectional
provincial interests
a provincial attitude of mind
helps free us from the provincial and the merely local — E.J.McGrath
3.
a. : exhibiting the ways and manners of a province or rural district : countrified , unsophisticated
provincial airs and graces — T.B.Macaulay
no provincial twang in their writings — H.O.Taylor
b. : of, relating to, or constituting a decorative style (as in furniture and architecture) that is of country rather than courtly origin and is usually marked by simplicity in design, informality in character, and relative plainness in decoration
a French provincial style house
provincial chest of … faded walnut — Antiques
provincial designs … in hooked rugs — Mildred J. O'Brien