Other forms: precincts
A precinct is an area of a town closed to traffic. A shopping precinct, a pedestrian precinct, the precinct is dead on Sundays.
This is the British sense, and precincts of this kind were built into most town centres between about 1960 and 1980. The word also means the grounds around a cathedral or an institution: the cathedral precinct. In American English a precinct is an administrative district for policing or voting — the police precinct, precinct results — which is how most people outside Britain meet the word.
1nounprecinctAn area of a town closed to traffic.
“The precinct was built in 1972 and looks it.”
2nounadministrativeAn administrative district, especially in America.
“The results came in precinct by precinct all night.”
precinct is an enclosed area.
Latin praecingere means to gird about — prae-, before, plus cingere, to encircle, the same verb as in cincture and precinct's cousin succinct, which means girded up. A precinct is an area with a belt round it.
Latin
praecingō — surround, gird
Medieval Latin
precinctum
Middle English
precinct
English, today
precinct
Built from
From Middle English precinct, early 15th century, in sense of “district for government purposes”, from Medieval Latin precinctum, alternative form of praecinctum (“enclosure, boundary line”), neuter singular of praecinctus, perfect passive participle of Latin praecingō (“surround, gird”), from prae (“before”) + cingō (“surround, encircle”), from which also cinch. Cognate to Italian precingere (“to encircle”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA