a division of a city or area under the authority of a police station; also the buildings or grounds of an institution.
From Latin 'praecinctus' meaning 'enclosed' or 'surrounded,' from 'prae-' (before) and 'cingere' (to gird or enclose). It originally meant a boundary or enclosed area.
A police precinct is literally an 'enclosed area' with defined boundaries—the word preserves the Latin meaning of being fenced in, which is exactly what precincts are: districts with clear, drawn lines on a map.
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