precinct (n.)

c. 1400, prasaynt (mid-15c. as precincte), "district defined for purposes of government or representation," especially in a city or town, from Medieval Latin precinctum "enclosure, boundary line," noun use of neuter past participle of Latin praecingere "to gird about, surround," from prae "before" (see pre-) + cingere "to surround, encircle" (see cinch (v.)). The meaning "exterior line or boundary encompassing a place" is from 1540s.