oblast

Etymology

Comes from a Slavic language, probably Russian о́бласть (óblastʹ, “region, province”), which was borrowed from Old Church Slavonic область (oblastĭ), from Proto-Slavic *obolstь, itself from earlier *obvolstь, *obvoldtь — a compound of *o(b)- (“over”) and *volstь (“rule, power, authority”), so probably meaning originally "a region ruled over". Compare Proto-Slavic *obvoldati (“to rule”).