[laurencerowe]

> The fact that British authorities picked a French word that the conquered would understand is significant.

That seems unavoidable given almost all English words related to government/law/administration (including "state") derive from French! The only counterexamples I can think of are "borough" and "riding".

> "Province" made allegiance to the crown oversea clear

There is a much clearer term for that though, "dominion" as in "Dominion of Canada". At least to my British English ear "province" simply doesn't have those connotations.

[talos_]

> That seems unavoidable given almost all English words related to government/law/administration (including "state") derive from French!

Interesting. I always thought that Britain adopted parliamentary system earlier than France. I'm guessing this has to do with the period Normandie (i.e., the French king) ruled over England

[laurencerowe]

Norman French was the language of administration in England for about 300 years following the Norman conquest in 1066 and the term "parliament" emerged during this time.

[talos_]

I like to joke that "Dominion of Canada" is actually a railroad company