govern
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɡʌv.ən/
ipa: /ˈɡʌv.ɚn/
rhymes: -ʌvə(ɹ)n
Forms: form: governs
form: governing
form: governed
form: governed
Etymology: From Middle English governen, governe, from Anglo-Norman and Old French governer, guverner, from Latin gubernō, from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “I steer, drive, govern”).
Senses: examples: text: The old king governed the land wisely.
glosses: To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; to exercise sovereign authority in.
examples: text: Americans are not libertarians in the Cato Institute sense of the word, but they are folk libertarians in this sense of impulsive behaviour, which is a feature of American life that anyone who wants to govern the United States, Democratic or Republican, has to be aware of.
ref: 2025 April 28, Ross Douthat, Nick Adams, “Condition of America”, in New Left Review, number 152, →ISSN:
glosses: To exercise political authority; to run a government.
examples: text: Govern yourselves like civilized people.
text: a student who could not govern his impulses
text: Find the strength, courage, and discipline to govern yourself or be governed by someone else.
ref: 2016, Justin Deschamps, Find the strength, courage, and discipline to govern yourself or be governed by someone else.:
glosses: To control the actions or behavior of; to keep under control; to restrain.
examples: text: Chance governs the outcome of many card games.
glosses: To exercise a deciding or determining influence on.
glosses: To have or exercise a determining influence.
glosses: To handle, to manage, to oversee (a matter, an affair, a household, etc.).
examples: text: a valve that governs fuel intake
text: The weight and c.g. of the aircraft were within limits at takeoff and were calculated to have remained so until the tail began to disintegrate in flight. Both engines were developing a high level of power at impact, and the APU was rotating at or near governed speed. The landing gear, flaps, and spoiler/speed brakes were retracted. There was no evidence of structural or system failures other than those directly resulting from the fire.
ref: 1968 April 18, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.1 Analysis”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Mohawk Airlines, Inc., BAC 1-11, N1116J, Near Blossburg, Pennsylvania, June 23, 1967, archived from the original on 24 Jun 2022, page 33:
glosses: To control the speed, flow etc. of; to regulate.
glosses: To direct the course of, to guide in some direction, to steer.
examples: text: from my vncles country of Medea,
Where all my youth I haue bene gouerned, […]
ref: c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
glosses: To look after, to take care of, to tend to (someone or some plant).
glosses: To manage, to control, to work (a tool or mechanical device).
topics: grammar
human-sciences
linguistics
sciences
coordinate_terms: agree
glosses: To require that a certain preposition, grammatical case, etc. be used with a word; sometimes used synonymously with collocate.
Derived terms: cogovern
e-govern
governable
governate
governee
governless
misgovern
overgovern
self-govern
Related terms: governance
governess
government
governor