precinct

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: pre=cinct

CIDE DICTIONARY

precinct, n. [LL. praecinctum, fr. L. praecingere, praecinctum, to gird about, to encompass; prae before + cingere to gird, surround. See Pre-, and Cincture.].

•  The limit or exterior line encompassing a place; a boundary; a confine; limit of jurisdiction or authority; -- often in the plural; as, the precincts of a state.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]
•  A district within certain boundaries; a minor territorial or jurisdictional division; as, an election precinct; a school precinct.  [1913 Webster]
•  A parish or prescribed territory attached to a church, and taxed for its support.  [1913 Webster]

  "The parish, or precinct, shall proceed to a new choice."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

precinct, n.
1 an enclosed or clearly defined area, e.g. around a cathedral, college, etc.
2 a specially designated area in a town, esp. with the exclusion of traffic (shopping precinct).
3 (in pl.) a the surrounding area or environs. b the boundaries.
4 US a a subdivision of a county, city, etc., for police or electoral purposes. b (in pl.) a neighbourhood.

Etymology

ME f. med.L praecinctum neut. past part. of praecingere encircle (as PRAE-, cingere gird)

THESAURUS

precinct

Kreis, agora, ambit, amphitheater, approach, approximation, archbishopric, archdiocese, area, arena, arrondissement, athletic field, auditorium, background, bailiwick, bear garden, beat, bishopric, border, borderland, borders, borough, boundary, bounds, bowl, boxing ring, bull ring, campus, canton, canvas, champaign, circle, circuit, circus, city, close borough, closeness, cockpit, coliseum, colosseum, commune, compass, confines, congressional district, constablewick, convergence, county, course, demesne, departement, department, diocese, district, domain, dominion, duchy, election district, electoral district, electorate, environs, field, floor, foreground, forum, gerrymander, gerrymandered district, government, ground, gym, gymnasium, hall, hamlet, hemisphere, hippodrome, hundred, immediacy, immediate foreground, judicial circuit, jurisdiction, limits, lists, locale, magistracy, march, marketplace, mat, metropolis, metropolitan area, milieu, nearness, neighborhood, nighness, oblast, okrug, open forum, orb, orbit, palaestra, pale, parade ground, parish, pit, place, platform, pocket borough, precincts, principality, prize ring, propinquity, province, proximity, public square, purlieu, purlieus, quarter, range, realm, region, riding, ring, rotten borough, round, safe district, scene, scene of action, scenery, section, sector, setting, sheriffalty, sheriffwick, shire, shrievalty, silk-stocking district, single-member district, site, soke, sphere, squared circle, stadium, stage, stage set, stage setting, stake, state, swing district, terrain, territory, theater, tilting ground, tiltyard, town, township, vicinage, vicinity, village, walk, wapentake, ward, wrestling ring, zone

ROGET THESAURUS

precinct

Government

N government, legal authority, soveriegn, sovereign authority, authority, master, direction, national government, nation, state, country, nation- state, dominion, republic, empire, union, democratic republic, kingdom, principality, state government, state, shire, province, county, canton, territory, duchy, archduchy, archdukedom, woiwodshaft, commonwealth, region, property, county, parish city, domain, tract, arrondissement, mofussil, commune, wappentake, hundred, riding, lathe, garth, soke, tithing, ward, precinct, bailiwick, command, empire, sway, rule, dominion, domination, sovereignty, supremacy, suzerainty, lordship, headship, chiefdom, seigniory, seigniority, rule, sway, command, control, administer, govern, lead, preside over, reign, possess the throne, be seated on the throne, occupy the throne, sway the scepter, wield the scepter, wear the crown, state, realm, body politic, posse comitatus, judicature, cabinet, seat of government, seat of authority, headquarters, accession, installation, politics, reign, regime, dynasty, directorship, dictatorship, protectorate, protectorship, caliphate, pashalic, electorate, presidency, presidentship, administration, proconsul, consulship, prefecture, seneschalship, magistrature, magistracy, monarchy, kinghood, kingship, royalty, regality, aristarchy, aristocracy, oligarchy, democracy, theocracy, demagogy, commonwealth, dominion, heteronomy, republic, republicanism, socialism, collectivism, mob law, mobocracy, ochlocracy, vox populi, imperium in imperio, bureaucracy, beadledom, bumbledom, stratocracy, military power, military government, junta, feodality, feudal system, feudalism, thearchy, theocracy, dinarchy, duarchy, triarchy, heterarchy, duumvirate, triumvirate, autocracy, autonomy, limited monarchy, constitutional government, constitutional monarchy, home rule, representative government, monocracy, pantisocracy, gynarchy, gynocracy, gynaeocracy, petticoat government, legislature, judiciary, administration, office of the president, office of the prime minister, cabinet, senate, house of representatives, parliament, council, courts, supreme court, state, interior, labor, health and human services, defense, education, agriculture, justice, commerce, treasury, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, National Institutes of Health, NIH, Postal Service, Post Office, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, president, vice president, cabinet member, prime minister, minister, senator, representatative, president pro tem, speaker of the house, department head, section head, section chief, federal judge, justice, justice of the supreme court, chief justice, treasurer, secretary of the treasury, director of the FBI, governor, state cabinet member, state senator, assemblyman, assemblywoman, regal, sovereign, governing, royal, royalist, monarchical, kingly, imperial, imperiatorial, princely, feudal, aristocratic, autocratic, oligarchic, republican, dynastic, ruling, regnant, gubernatorial, imperious, authoritative, executive, administrative, clothed with authority, official, departmental, ex officio, imperative, peremptory, overruling, absolute, hegemonic, hegemonical, authorized, government, public, national, federal, his majesty's, her majesty's, state, county, city, N, a dog's obeyed in office, cada uno tiene su alguazil, le Roi le veut, regibus esse manus en nescio longas, regnant populi, the demigod Authority, the right divine of kings to govern wrong, uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

Place

N place, lieu, spot, point, dot, niche, nook, hole, pigeonhole, compartment, premises, precinct, station, area, courtyard, square, abode, locality, ins and outs, every hole and corner, somewhere, in some place, wherever it may be, here and there, in various places, passim.

Limit

N limit, boundary, bounds, confine, enclave, term, bourn, verge, curbstone, but, pale, reservation, termination, terminus, stint, frontier, precinct, marches, backwoods, boundary line, landmark, line of demarcation, line of circumvallation, pillars of Hercules, Rubicon, turning point, ne plus ultra, sluice, floodgate, definite, conterminate, conterminable, terminal, frontier, bordering, thus far, thus far and no further, stick to the reservation, go beyond the pale, Special.