'provincialist' originates from 'province,' specifically the word 'provincia' in Latin, where 'pro-' meant 'before' and 'vincia' meant 'conquered land.'

'provincia' transformed into the Old French word 'province,' and eventually became the modern English word 'province,' from which 'provincialist' is derived.

Initially, it meant 'a person from a province,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a narrow-minded person.'