Provincial has two basic meanings.
It can refer to someone who has a limited, restricted, or non-sophisticated mentality or habits, stereotypical of an inhabitant of "the provinces" (areas distant from the national capital). See: parochialism
The other basic meaning is anything related to a province, a formal geographical division, or a country or a church. In countries with powerful provincial loyalties the word lacks the negative connotation noted above. More specificly, provincial can refer to:
- Provincial examinations, a school-leaving exam in British Columbia, Canada
- A provincial superior of a religious order
- The Provincial sector of British Rail, which was later renamed Regional Railways
- Provincial Airlines, a Canadian airline
- Provincial park, the equivalent of national parks in the Canadian provices
- Provincial city, a type of city in the People's Republic of China
- Provincial Secretary, a position in Canadian government
- Provincial Reconstruction Team, a military unit used by Western forced in Afghanistan
- Provincial council, Gaelic athletics councils in Ireland
- Member of Provincial Parliament, a title for legislators in Ontario, Canada
- Sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China
- Provincial Court, a type of law court in Canada
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