precincts

pre·cinct  (prsngkt)

n.

1.

a. A subdivision or district of a city or town under the jurisdiction of or patrolled by a specific unit of its police force.

b. The police station situated in and having jurisdiction over such a district.

2. An election district of a city or town.

3.

a. A place or enclosure marked off by definite limits, such as walls. Often used in the plural: the mysterious precincts of the old monastery.

b. A boundary: Hunting is not allowed within the precincts of the estate.

4. precincts The neighborhood or surrounding area; the environs.

5. An area of thought or action; a province or domain. Often used in the plural: "It was in these spacious precincts that Dryden's imagination was most at home" (Mark Van Doren).

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[Middle English precincte, a defined district or area, from Medieval Latin praecnctum, from Latin, neuter past participle of praecingere, to encircle : prae-, pre- + cingere, to gird; see kenk- in Indo-European roots.]

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precincts

Noun, pl

the surrounding region