Something provisional is temporary and not definitive: "Refugees are granted temporary accommodation until they can return to their homes."
Provisional is an adjective that has its etymological origin in the Latin word provīsum . This, in turn, is the supine of the verb providere , which means “to see in advance” and is made up of two different parts:
- The prefix pro- , which can be translated as “in front” .
- The verb videre , which is synonymous with “see” .
Concept of provisional
Provisional is synonymous with provisional , a term used to refer to what is possessed or carried out temporarily . This means that what is provisional is not definitive, conclusive or irreversible.
For example: “I am the temporary head of this office, until the owner of the company appoints a new manager,” “We are installed in a temporary location because the construction is not finished yet,” “We agreed on a provisional schedule for the meeting of next week, but then we will see if we keep it or not.”
Suppose an accountant is fired from the company he works for. He is a professional with studies and extensive experience: that is why he aspires to obtain a well-paid job. However, because he needs to have income, he agrees to work in a clothing store as a salesman. The accountant considers this activity as a temporary job until he finds a new position in which he can work as an accountant: that is, he does not plan to work permanently as a clothing salesperson.
In the same way, we can also say that provisional is used within the scope of politics. In this case, for example, it is used to refer to the leader who, temporarily, may have a party until it holds its primary elections and elects the person who will hold that position or until its “leadership” dictates who the person is. who can best perform that position in order to have the support of the citizens.
A person can accept temporary employment until they find a job that gives them greater satisfaction.
a type of government
Of course, we must not overlook that there have also been governments that have had the same character. These have been governments that, for a short period of time, have been functioning in a country until, after a turbulent situation, normality could be restored through the establishment of a full-fledged government.
Throughout history there have been many cases of provisional governments, such as, for example, that of Russia in 1917 after the fall of tsarism; that of the Second Republic in Spain in 1931 ; that of the French Republic in 1944 ; that of Ireland in 1922 after achieving its independence; or that of Federal Democratic Yugoslavia , after World War II .
Other uses of the term provisional
Another example of something provisional takes place after elections are held. After the vote to elect those who will occupy certain public positions, a provisional scrutiny is carried out with a first count of the votes. These results are not definitive, since the minutes must be reviewed, challenges defined, etc.
A temporary shelter , finally, is the place that a person finds to protect and shelter themselves for a time. It could be the building that temporarily houses flood victims, to name one possibility.