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Added 9 October 2026

prefecture

/ˈpɹiːfɛkt͡ʃə/ noun

In Latin: praefectūra Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about prefecture at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The district administered by a prefect (as in France or Japan or the Roman Empire).
The office of prefect.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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