one of the official regions that some countries, such as Switzerland, are divided into (瑞士等国的)行政区,州 Switzerland is a federation of relatively autonomous cantons. 瑞士是一个由相对自治的州组成的联邦。
Word Originearly 16th cent.: from Old French, literally ‘corner’, from Provençal, based on a Romance word related to medieval Latin cantus ‘corner, side’.