Territory

A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal.

As a subdivision, a territory in most countries is an organized division of an area that is controlled by a country but is not formally developed into,[1] or incorporated into, a political unit of that country, which political units are of equal status to one another and are often referred to by words such as "provinces", "regions", or "states".

In its narrower sense, it is "a geographic region, such as a colonial possession, that is dependent on an external government.

"[2] The origins of the word "territory" begin with the Proto-Indo-European root ters ('to dry').

[4][5] Territory made its debut as a word in Middle English during the 14th century.