provincial (cas sh), provinciall

& s. [Fr. provincial, from Lat. provincial is =pertaining to a province (q. v.); Sp. & Port. provincial; Ital. provinciale.] A. As adjective : 1. Pertaining or relating to a province; as, a pro vincial government, a provincial dialect. 2. Constituting or forming a province appendant to the principal kingdom or state. 3. Pertaining to an ecclesiastical province, or to the jurisdiction of an archbishop; as, a provincial synod. ( Eng .) 4. Characteristic of a province; exhibiting the manners or peculiarities of a province; hence, countrified, rustic, rude, unpolished. 5. Used in a province; characteristic of a province. 6. Exercising jurisdiction over a province. 7. Specif .: Of or pertaining to Provence, in France; Provençal. B. As substantive: 1. Ord . Lang .: One who belongs to a province, or to the provinces; a native or inhabitant of any part of the country except the metropolis. 2. Roman Church: The religious who, being appointed by the General or a chapter, has general superintendence of a province committed to his charge. Provinces are of varying extent; but, generally speaking, the more numerous the religious houses, the smaller the province containing them. provincial-constitutions, s. pl. Eng. Eccles. Law : (See extract.) "The provincial-constitutions are principally the decrees of provincial synods, held under divers archbishops of Canterbury, from Langton in the reign of Henry III. to Chichele in the reign of Henry V.; and adopted by the province of York in the reign of Henry VL"-Black stone: Comment., § 2. (Introd.)