Gubernia

/ɡuːˈbɛrniə/ noun

Definition

A province or administrative district, especially in czarist Russia; the plural form is gubernii.

Etymology

From Russian guberniya, from Late Latin gubernia, from gubernare (to govern). The Russian Empire adopted this Latinate administrative term for their provincial divisions.

Kelly Says

Gubernia shows how Latin administrative language traveled eastward—the Russian Empire borrowed Roman terminology to organize their vast territory, just like the Romans had borrowed Greek concepts centuries before.

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