# prefecture

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɹiːfɛkt͡ʃə/ · frequency rank #23,366

## Definitions
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.

## Etymology
Borrowed 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.

## Common misspellings (15)
`perfecture`, `pprefecture`, `preefcture`, `prefceture`, `prefeccture`, `prefectrue`, `prefectture`, `prefectuer`, `prefecturre`, `prefecutre`, `prefetcure`, `preffecture`, `prfeecture`, `prrefecture`, `rpefecture`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/prefecture