Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The district administered or governed by a prefect.
  • noun An administrative district of some countries, especially China or Japan.
  • noun The office or authority of a prefect.
  • noun The residence or housing of a prefect.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The office or jurisdiction of a prefect, chief magistrate, commander, or viceroy.
  • noun The district under the government of a prefect.
  • noun The official residence of a prefect.
  • noun A term often used by foreigners in and writers on China as equivalent to fu, an administrative division consisting of several districts called hien or chow. See fu.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The office, position, or jurisdiction of a prefect; also, his official residence.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An office, position, or jurisdiction of a prefect; the official residence of that prefect.
  • noun A district governed by a prefect (especially in France and Japan)

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the office of prefect
  • noun the district administered by a prefect (as in France or Japan or the Roman Empire)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin praefectūra.

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Examples

  • Many family names were connected to some certain prefecture (jun) respectively during the early medieval ages.

    Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

  • But the incoming mayor, formerly governor of Osaka prefecture, has tools to ratchet up the pressure: Osaka, Japan's third-biggest city, is both the largest city in Kansai Electric's service area and the utility's biggest shareholder, with a stake of about 9% as of March 31.

    Nuclear Conflict: Utility, Mayor Face Off in Japan Mari Iwata 2011

  • Aichi prefecture, which is home to the bulk of Toyota's domestic plants is planning to start hiring staffers to do odd jobs -- like inspecting roads -- to offset employment cuts.

    Auto Slump Has Deep Impact on Japan 2009

  • The prefecture is a nice, old-fashioned house, in the centre of the town, with a big garden.

    Chateau and Country Life in France Mary Alsop King Waddington

  • Luapula to the source of the Lualaba, the eastern and southern boundary of the prefecture is the Congo-Rhodesian frontier.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 16 [Supplement] 1840-1916 1913

  • To get this stamp, the traveller must carry or send his passport to the great central police office of Paris, called the prefecture of police.

    Rollo in Switzerland Jacob Abbott 1841

  • The plain is Japan's largest wild crane wintering site, and the prefecture is the nation's top poultry-raising area.

    NYT > Home Page By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. 2011

  • Mr Hashimoto, 42, had been the governor of the greater Osaka prefecture since 2008.

    BBC News - Home 2011

  • The maker of Aquos televisions will halve output at its factory in Sakai, Osaka prefecture for more than a month as weakening global demand has caused inventories to rise, the Nikkei newspaper reported today, without saying where it obtained the information.

    BusinessWeek.com -- Top News 2012

  • Reflecting on the damage to his prefecture, which is also at the centre of the nuclear power crisis, Sato said: My chest has been ripped open by the suffering and pain that this disaster has caused the people of our prefecture.

    The Guardian World News Justin McCurry 2011

Comments

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  • Japan is divided into "prefectures". None of them are administered by a prefect. It's just another name for state or county.

    January 29, 2009