Province
This article refers to the term Province as it relates to Nationstates. For more general information, see the Wikipedia article on the subject.
A province is a territorial subdivision. In many nations, territorial subdivisions are officially styled as provinces. More generally, the term is often used to refer to any territorial subdivision of a nation.
Etymology
A possible origin in Latin is from pro- ("on behalf of") and vincere ("to triumph/take control over"). Thus a province was a territory or function that an official took control over on behalf of a higher authority.
The word most immediately entered the English language through French. The French word province was derived from the Latin word provincia which had an essentially identical meaning.