Yesterday, the origins of the words convict and convince were discussed, both stemming from the Latin verb vincere, which means “to conquer.” Another word believed to have the same root is province. This noun was first introduced to English in the late fourteenth century with various spellings such as prouynse, prouynce, prowince, provynce, before being standardized to its current form. Derived from Old French, province can be traced back to the Latin provincia, which combines the prefix pro- meaning “before” and vincere. The term provincia specifically denoted administrative divisions of the Roman empire, indicating territories conquered beyond Italy. This is also linked to Provence, a region in southeastern France, as the Romans referred to it as nostra provincia, meaning “our province.”
