governor
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: government
grammar
human-sciences
linguistics
nautical
politics
sciences
transport
Etymology: From Middle English governour, from Old French gouvreneur, from Latin gubernator, from Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης (kubernḗtēs, “steersman, pilot, guide”), from κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer, to drive, to guide, to act as a pilot”), of disputed origin. By surface analysis, govern + -or. Doublet of gubernator.
Inflected forms:
form: governors
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: gouernour
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: gouvernor
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: gouvernour
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: governer
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: governour
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: guvnah
pos: noun
tags: alternative
informal
form: guvnuh
pos: noun
tags: alternative
informal
Senses:
gloss: The chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country.
pos: noun
examples: Younger voters are more libertarian in political philosophy than older voters and are credited with the success of libertarian governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota.
Top aides and people close to Kamala Harris have divided over whether she should head home to run for California governor in 2026 — and it all comes down to whether they believe she could win the Democratic nomination for president in an expected competitive primary in 2028.
But gender is a factor both candidates will navigate in a country that has elected just 51 female state governors in its history.
gloss: A device which regulates or controls some action of a machine through automatic feedback.
pos: noun
examples: A governor on the injection pump limits the speed when running idle.
Generator excitation is obtained by a combination of the separately-excited and self-excited fields, and the output is controlled by a resistance in the separate field circuit adjusted by the load regulator under the control of the engine governor.
The turning point came in 1923, says Norton, when 42,000 Cincinnati residents signed a petition for a ballot initiative that would require all cars to have a governor limiting them to 25 miles per hour.
gloss: A member of a decision-making body (such as a committee) for a larger organization or entity (including some public agencies), similar to or equivalent to a board of directors (used especially for banks); a member of the board of governors.
pos: noun
examples: The seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and head of the country’s foreign exchange regulator, chaired a symposium with representatives from foreign companies, including JP Morgan, Tesla (TSLA), HSBC (HSBC), Deutsche Bank (DB), BNP Paribas, Japan’s MUFG Bank, German chemical producer BASF, commodities trader Trafigura and Schneider Electric, according to a statement posted on the websites of the PBOC and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
gloss: Father.
pos: noun
tags: informal
examples: "Say 'father.' We never called him papa; and if one of my brothers had addressed him as 'governor,' as boys do now, I really think he'd have him cut off with a shilling."
gloss: Boss; employer; gaffer.
pos: noun
tags: informal
gloss: Term of address to a man; guv'nor.
pos: noun
tags: UK
dated
informal
examples: "Oh, right you are, governor, if you say so," accepted Fank […]
gloss: A constituent of a phrase that governs another.
pos: noun
gloss: One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian.
pos: noun
tags: dated
gloss: A pilot; a steersman.
pos: noun
Related words: govern
government
governorate
governor-general
governor general
Governor-General
Governor General
gubernatorial
Kubernetes
self-govern
Derived words: archgovernor
centrifugal governor
cogovernor
Governator
governoress
Governor Generoso
governorly
governorship
gov
gov.
gov'nor
guv
guv'nor
lieutenant governor
subgovernor
undergovernor
Translations: