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DISTRICT

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Originally appearing in Volume V08, Page 323 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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DISTRICT , a word denoting in its more See also:

general sense, a See also:tract or extent of a See also:country, See also:town, &c., marked off for administrative or other purposes, or having some See also:special and distinguishing characteristics. The See also:medieval Latin districtus (from distringere, to distrain) is defined by Du Cange as Territorium feudi, seu tract us, in quo See also:Dominus vassallos et tenentes suos distringere potest; and as justitiae exercendae in eo tractu facultas. It was also used of the territory over which the feudal See also:lord exercised his See also:jurisdiction generally. It may be noted that distringere had a wider significance than " to distrain " in the See also:English legal sense (see See also:DISTRESS). It is defined by Du Cange as compellere ad aliquid faciendum per mulctam, poenam, vel capto pignore. In English usage, apart from its general application in such forms as postal district, See also:registration district and the like, " district " has specific usages for ecclesiastical and See also:local See also:government purposes. It is thus applied to a See also:division of a See also:parish under the See also:Church See also:Building Acts, originally called a " perpetual curacy," and the church serving such a division is properly a " district See also:chapel." Under the Local Government See also:Act of 1894 counties are divided for the purposes of the act into See also:urban and rural districts. In See also:British See also:India the word is used to represent the zillah, an administrative subdivision of a See also:province or See also:presidency. In the See also:United States of See also:America the word has many administrative, judicial and other applications. In See also:South Carolina it was used instead of " See also:county " for the See also:chief division of the See also:state other than in the See also:coast region. In the Virginias, See also:Tennessee, See also:Georgia, See also:Kentucky and See also:Maryland it answers to " township " or See also:precinct, elsewhere the See also:principal subdivision of a county. It is used for an electoral " division," each state being divided into Congressional and senatorial districts; and also for a See also:political subdivision ranking between an unorganized and an arganized Territory—e.g., th District of See also:Columbia and See also:Alaska.

End of Article: DISTRICT

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