Comment by talos_
2 days ago
From the link you shared:
> The English word province is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French province, which itself comes from the Latin word provincia, which referred to the sphere of authority of a magistrate, in particular, to a foreign territory.
The fact that British authorities picked a French word that the conquered would understand is significant.
> I wonder if the word choice was influenced by the US civil war ending only a couple of years previously
Interesting interpretation! I would agree given Canadians were given the opportunity to ally with the 13 colonies at the time (but didn't). British loyalists also fled the United States. "Province" made allegiance to the crown oversea clear
> The fact that British authorities picked a French word that the conquered would understand is significant.
That seems unavoidable given almost all English words related to government/law/administration (including "state") derive from French! The only counterexamples I can think of are "borough" and "riding".
> "Province" made allegiance to the crown oversea clear
There is a much clearer term for that though, "dominion" as in "Dominion of Canada". At least to my British English ear "province" simply doesn't have those connotations.
> That seems unavoidable given almost all English words related to government/law/administration (including "state") derive from French!
Interesting. I always thought that Britain adopted parliamentary system earlier than France. I'm guessing this has to do with the period Normandie (i.e., the French king) ruled over England
Norman French was the language of administration in England for about 300 years following the Norman conquest in 1066 and the term "parliament" emerged during this time.
I like to joke that "Dominion of Canada" is actually a railroad company