Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - province

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