prefecture
UK /ˈpɹiːfɛkt͡ʃə/ · US /ˈpɹiˌfɛkt͡ʃəɹ/ noun
Forms prefectures præfecture
- noun The office or position of a prefect.
- noun The jurisdiction of a prefect; the region administered by a prefect, especially as a translation of certain French, Chinese, and Japanese administrative divisions.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French préfecture, from Latin praefectūra. Equivalent to prefect + -ure. As an East Asian administrative division, a calque of Chinese 府 (fǔ) and 郡 (jùn), also used to describe 縣 /县 (xian, “county”) and 州 (zhou, “province”) in some eras.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [L. praefectura: cf. F. préfecture.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “prefecture”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details