Provincial has two basic meanings.

It can refer to someone who has a limited, restricted, or non-sophisticated mentality or habits, stereotypical of an inhabitant of "the provinces" (areas distant from the national capital). See: parochialism

The other basic meaning is anything related to a province, a formal geographical division, or a country or a church. In countries with powerful provincial loyalties the word lacks the negative connotation noted above. More specificly, provincial can refer to:

• Provincial examinations, a school-leaving exam in British Columbia, Canada
• A provincial superior of a religious order
• The Provincial sector of British Rail, which was later renamed Regional Railways
• Provincial Airlines, a Canadian airline
• Provincial park, the equivalent of national parks in the Canadian provices
• Provincial city, a type of city in the People's Republic of China
• Provincial Secretary, a position in Canadian government
• Provincial Reconstruction Team, a military unit used by Western forced in Afghanistan
• Provincial council, Gaelic athletics councils in Ireland
• Member of Provincial Parliament, a title for legislators in Ontario, Canada
• Sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China
• Provincial Court, a type of law court in Canada

fr:Provincial