governor

See also: Governor

English

A flyball governor (mechanical), connected to a linkage to regulate flow.

Alternative forms

• gouernour, gouvernor, gouvernour, governer, governour (all obsolete)
• guvnah, guvnuh (both informal)

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. Doublet of cybernetics and Kubernetes.

Pronunciation

• (UK, non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌv(ə)nə(ɹ)/
• (US, rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌvɚnɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (US, non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌvənə(ɹ)/
• (US, rhotic, r-dissimilation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌvənɚ/

Noun

governor (plural governors)

2. (politics) The chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country.

   Coordinate terms: governor general, viceroy

   • 1999, Karen O'Connor, The essentials of American government: continuity and change, page 17

     Younger voters are more libertarian in political philosophy than older voters and are credited with the success of libertarian governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota.

4. A device which regulates or controls some action of a machine through automatic feedback.

   Coordinate terms: modulator, regulator, synchronizer

   • 1961 October, “The first 1,250 h.p. Birmingham/Sulzer Type 2 diesels enter service”, in Trains Illustrated, page 607:

     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.

   • 2015 November 4, Joseph Stromberg, “The forgotten history of how automakers invented the crime of "jaywalking"”, in Vox‎^[1]:

     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.

5. 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.
   • Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreserve.gov (November 6, 2009)

     The seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

6. (informal) Father.
   • 1869, Louisa May Alcott, An Old-Fashioned Girl:

     "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."

7. (informal) Boss; employer; gaffer.
8. (UK, informal, dated) Term of address to a man; guv'nor.
9. (grammar) A constituent of a phrase that governs another.
10. (dated) One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian.

    Coordinate term: governess

11. (nautical) A pilot; a steersman.

Synonyms

• (head of a province): viceroy (of large divisions of a kingdom or empire); proconsul (of Roman regions, historical); bailiff, seneschal, intendant (of French regions, historical); tao tai (obsolete), circuit intendant, intendant, daotai (of Chinese regions, historical); provost (obsolete); gubernator (now humorous)

Derived terms

• centrifugal governor
• gov / gov.
• gov'nor
• guv
• guv'nor
• lieutenant governor

 

Related terms

Related terms

• cybernetics
• govern
• government
• governor-general, governor general, Governor-General, Governor General
• governorate
• gubernatorial
• Kubernetes
• self-govern

Descendants

• Bahamian Creole: governor
• Belizean Creole: govna
• Gullah: gobna
• Krio: governor
• Pichinglis: gɔvna, gɔbna
• Pijin: gavna
• Tobagonian Creole English: governor
• Tok Pisin: gavana
• → Hausa: gwamna
• → Irish: gobharnóir
• → Maori: kāwana
• → Samoan: kavana
• → Swahili: gavana
• → Malay: gabenor

Translations

chief executive officer of first-level division of a country

• Afrikaans: goewerneur (af)
• Arabic: مُحَافِظ m (muḥāfiẓ), حَاكِم m (ḥākim), وَالٍ m (wālin)
• Armenian: նահանգապետ (hy) (nahangapet)
• Azerbaijani: qubernator, hakim (az) (historical)
• Basque: gobernadore
• Belarusian: губерна́тар m (hubjernátar), губерна́тарка f (hubjernátarka), губэрна́тар m (hubernátar) (Taraškievica), губэрна́тарка f (hubernátarka)
• Bengali: রাজ্যপাল (bn) (rajjopal)
• Bhojpuri: राज्यपाल (rājyapāl)
• Bulgarian: губерна́тор (bg) m (gubernátor), губерна́торка f (gubernátorka)
• Burmese: ဘုရင်ခံ (my) (bhu.ranghkam)
• Catalan: governador (ca) m
• Chichewa: bwanamkubwa
• Chickasaw: minko'
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 省長／省长 (zh) (shěngzhǎng) (esp. of a province), 州長／州长 (zh) (zhōuzhǎng)

• Coptic: ⲡⲁⲅⲁⲣⲭⲟⲥ (pagarkhos), ⲉⲡⲁⲣⲭⲟⲥ (eparkhos)
• Czech: guvernér (cs) m, guvernérka f
• Danish: guvernør (da) c
• Dutch: gouverneur (nl) m
• Esperanto: reganto, gubernatoro (eo), guberniento, guberniestro
• Estonian: valitsejer, kuberner
• Faroese: guvernørur m
• Finnish: kuvernööri (fi)
• French: gouverneur (fr) m, gouverneure (fr) f
• Galician: gobernador m
• Georgian: გუბერნატორი (ka) (gubernaṭori), კატაბანი (ḳaṭabani) (obsolete), მმართველი (mmartveli)
• German: Gouverneur (de) m, Gouverneurin (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌺𐌹𐌽𐌳𐌹𐌽𐍃 m (kindins)
• Greek: κυβερνήτης (el) m (kyvernítis)

  Ancient: ἀρχηγέτης m (arkhēgétēs)

• Hausa: gwamna (ha)
• Hawaiian: kiaʻaina
• Hebrew: מוֹשֵׁל m (moshel)
• Hindi: राज्यपाल (hi) m (rājyapāl), गवर्नर (hi) m (gavarnar), हाकिम (hi) m (hākim)
• Hungarian: kormányzó (hu)
• Icelandic: ríkisstjóri m, landstjóri m, (dated) guvernör m, fylkisstjóri m
• Indonesian: gubernur (id)
• Ingrian: gubernaattori
• Irish: gobharnóir m
• Italian: governatore (it) m, governatrice (it) f
• Japanese: 知事 (ja) (ちじ, chiji)
• Kazakh: губернатор (gubernator)
• Khmer: អភិបាល (ʼaʼphibaal), ទេសាភិបាល (km) (teisaaphibaal)
• Korean: 지사(知事) (ko) (jisa), 도지사(道知事) (dojisa), 주지사(州知事) (jujisa)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: walî (ku), parêzgar (ku) m or f

• Kyrgyz: губернатор (ky) (gubernator)
• Lao: ເຈົ້າເມືອງ (chao mư̄ang) (city), ເຈົ້າແຂວງ (chao khuǣng) (province)
• Latin: gubernātor m, gubernātrīx f
• Latvian: valdnieks m, gubernators m
• Lithuanian: gubernatorius m, valdytojas m
• Macedonian: губернатор m (gubernator)
• Malay: gabenor
• Maori: kāwana
• Marathi: राज्यपाल m or f (rājyapāl)
• Middle English: governour
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: удирдагч (mn) (udirdagč), захирагч (mn) (zaxiragč)

  Mongolian: ᠤᠳᠤᠷᠢᠳᠤᠭᠴᠢ (uduriduɣči), ᠵᠠᠬᠢᠷᠤᠭᠴᠢ (ǰakiruɣči)

• Navajo: naatʼáanii
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: guvernør m, (on Svalbard) sysselmann (no) m

  Nynorsk: guvernør m, (on Svalbard) sysselmann m

• Ojibwe: odaake-ogimaa
• Oromo: bulchaa
• Pashto: والي m (wālí), حاکم (ps) m (hãkəm, hãkem)
• Persian: فرماندار (fa) (farmândâr), والی (fa) (vâli), حاکم (fa) (hâkem)
• Polish: gubernator (pl) m, guwerner (pl) m
• Portuguese: governador (pt) m, governadora f
• Romanian: guvernator (ro) m, guvernant (ro) m
• Russian: губерна́тор (ru) m (gubernátor)
• Scottish Gaelic: riaghladair
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гувѐрне̄р m

  Roman: guvèrnēr (sh) m

• Slovak: guvernér m
• Slovene: guverner m
• Sotho: mmusi
• Spanish: gobernador (es) m, gobernadora (es) f
• Swahili: liwali class 5/6
• Swedish: guvernör (sv) c
• Tagalog: gobernador
• Tajik: губернатор (gubernator), фармондор (farmondor), воли (vol-i), ҳоким (hokim)
• Taos: tòbúna (of pueblo)
• Tatar: вали (wali), губернатор (ğubernator)
• Thai: ผู้ว่าราชการ (pûu-wâa-râat-chá-gaan)
• Turkish: ilbay (tr), vali (tr)
• Turkmen: häkim, gubernator
• Ukrainian: губерна́тор m (hubernátor), губерна́торка f (hubernátorka)
• Urdu: گورنر m (gavarnar), حاکم m (hākim)
• Uzbek: gubernator (uz), hokim (uz), voli (uz)
• Vietnamese: thống đốc (vi), thống sử

device which regulates or controls

• Belarusian: рэгуля́тар m (rehuljátar)
• Bulgarian: регула́тор (bg) m (regulátor)
• Catalan: regulador m
• Czech: regulátor m
• Dutch: regelaar (nl)
• Finnish: säädin (fi)
• Georgian: რეგულატორი (regulaṭori)
• German: Regler (de) m
• Japanese: 調整器 (ちょうせいき, chōseiki), 調速機 (ちょうそくき, chōsokuki)
• Portuguese: regulador m
• Romanian: regulator (ro) m
• Russian: регуля́тор (ru) m (reguljátor)
• Scottish Gaelic: rianadair m
• Swedish: regulator (sv) c, centrifugalregulator c
• Ukrainian: регуля́тор m (rehuljátor)

member of a decision-making body for some organizations

• Finnish: johtokunnan jäsen
• Turkish: guvernör (tr)

informal: father

informal: boss, employer

• Finnish: pomo (fi)

informal: term of address to a man

• Finnish: herra (fi)

grammar: constituent of a phrase

• Finnish: pääsana (fi)

one in care of a young man

nautical: pilot, steersman

Middle English

Noun

governor

1. Alternative form of governour