prefecture

• præfecture (archaic)

From Middle French préfecture, from Latin praefectūra. Equivalent to prefect +‎ -ure. As an East Asian administrative division, a calque of Chinese 府 (fǔ) and 郡 (jùn), also used to describe 縣／县 (xian, “county”) and 州 (zhou, “province”) in some eras.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiˌfɛkt͡ʃəɹ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiːfɛkt͡ʃə/, /ˈpɹiːfɛktjʊə/

prefecture (plural prefectures)

1. The office or position of a prefect.
2. The jurisdiction of a prefect; the region administered by a prefect, especially as a translation of certain French, Chinese, and Japanese administrative divisions.

• (Chinese administrative division): jun, fu; chun, foo (obsolete); commandery (some contexts)

• prefectural (adjective)
• prefecture-level city, prefecture-level municipality

• prefect

• “prefecture”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.