*govern*

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Governed p. pr. & vb. n. Governing. ] [ OF. governer, F. gouverner, fr. L. gubernare to steer, pilot, govern, Gr. kyberna^n. Cf. Gubernatorial. ] 1. To direct and control, as the actions or conduct of men, either by established laws or by arbitrary will; to regulate by authority. “Fit to govern and rule multitudes.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To regulate; to influence; to direct; to restrain; to manage; as, to govern the life; to govern a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

Govern well thy appetite. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Gram.) To require to be in a particular case; as, a transitive verb governs a noun in the objective case; or to require (a particular case); as, a transitive verb governs the objective case. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Governableness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. gouvernable. ] Capable of being governed, or subjected to authority; controllable; manageable; obedient. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being governable; manageableness.

/mhw>, n. [ Cf. F. gouvernail helm, rudder, L. gubernaculum. ] Management; mastery. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. gouvernance. ] Exercise of authority; control; government; arrangement. Chaucer. J. H. Newman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. gouvernante. See Govern. ] A governess. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. governeresse. See Governor. ] A female governor; a woman invested with authority to control and direct; especially, one intrusted with the care and instruction of children, -- usually in their homes. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Holding the superiority; prevalent; controlling; as, a governing wind; a governing party in a state. Jay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Gram.) Requiring a particular case. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. gouvernement. See Govern. ] 1. The act of governing; the exercise of authority; the administration of laws; control; direction; regulation; as, civil, church, or family government. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The mode of governing; the system of polity in a state; the established form of law. [ 1913 Webster ]

That free government which we have so dearly purchased, free commonwealth. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The right or power of governing; authority. [ 1913 Webster ]

I here resign my government to thee. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The person or persons authorized to administer the laws; the ruling power; the administration. [ 1913 Webster ]

When we, in England, speak of the government, we generally understand the ministers of the crown for the time being. Mozley & W. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The body politic governed by one authority; a state; as, the governments of Europe. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Management of the limbs or body. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Gram.) The influence of a word in regard to construction, requiring that another word should be in a particular case. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. gouvernemental. ] Pertaining to government; made by government; as, governmental duties. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A temporary government moved to or formed in a foreign land by exiles who hope to rule when their country is liberated. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ OE. governor, governour, OF. governeor, F. gouverneur, fr. L. gubernator steersman, ruler, governor. See Govern. ] 1. One who governs; especially, one who is invested with the supreme executive authority in a State; a chief ruler or magistrate; as, the governor of Pennsylvania. “The governor of the town.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) A pilot; a steersman. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mach.) A contrivance applied to steam engines, water wheels, and other machinery, to maintain nearly uniform speed when the resistances and motive force are variable.

☞ The illustration shows a form of governor commonly used for steam engines, in wich a heavy sleeve (a) sliding on a rapidly revolving spindle (b), driven by the engine, is raised or lowered, when the speed varies, by the changing centrifugal force of two balls (c c) to which it is connected by links (d d), the balls being attached to arms (e e) which are jointed to the top of the spindle. The sleeve is connected with the throttle valve or cut-off through a lever (f), and its motion produces a greater supply of steam when the engine runs too slowly and a less supply when too fast. [ 1913 Webster ]

Governor cut-off (Steam Engine), a variable cut-off gear in which the governor acts in such a way as to cause the steam to be cut off from entering the cylinder at points of the stroke dependent upon the engine's speed. --
Hydraulic governor (Mach.), a governor which is operated by the action of a liquid in flowing; a cataract. [ 1913 Webster ]

A governor who has lieutenant or deputy governors under him; as, the governor general of Canada, of India. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The office of a governor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To govern badly; as, to misgovern a country. Knolles. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Misgovernment; misconduct; misbehavior. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Ill governed, as a people; ill directed. “Rude, misgoverned hands.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Bad government; want of government. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A speed regulator, as a water-wheel governor, embodying the relay principle. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. The act of governing one's self, or the state of being governed by one's self; self-control; self-command. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, government of a community, state, or nation by the joint action of the mass of people constituting such a civil body; also, the state of being so governed; democratic government; democracy. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is to self-government, the great principle of popular representation and administration, -- the system that lets in all to participate in the councels that are to assign the good or evil to all, -- that we may owe what we are and what we hope to be. D. Webster. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A subordinate or assistant governor. [ 1913 Webster ]