Alternative forms

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

Etymology

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#GOVERNORCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#GOVERNOR governour, from Old FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Old French#GOVERNOR gouvreneur, from LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#GOVERNOR gubernator, from Ancient GreekCategory:English terms derived from Ancient Greek#GOVERNOR 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 +‎ -orCategory:English terms suffixed with -or (agent noun)#GOVERNOR. Doublet of gubernatorCategory:English doublets#GOVERNOR.

Pronunciation

• (UK, non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌv(ə)nə(ɹ)/Category:English 3-syllable words#GOVERNORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#GOVERNOR
• (US, rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌvɚnɚ/Category:English 3-syllable words#GOVERNORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#GOVERNOR

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#GOVERNOR
• (US, non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌvənə(ɹ)/Category:English 3-syllable words#GOVERNORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#GOVERNOR
• (US, rhotic, r-dissimilation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌvənɚ/Category:English 3-syllable words#GOVERNORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#GOVERNOR

Noun

governor (plural governors)Category:English lemmas#GOVERNORCategory:English nouns#GOVERNORCategory:English countable nouns#GOVERNORCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#GOVERNORCategory:Pages with entries#GOVERNORCategory:Pages with 2 entries#GOVERNOR

2. (politicsCategory:en:Politics#GOVERNOR) 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.

   • 2024 December 15, Edward-Isaac Dovere, “Harris debates her future: A run for California governor that would take 2028 off the table”, in CNN‎:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GOVERNOR

   • 2025 June 17, Eva McKend, “Virginia will elect its first female governor this fall. Neither candidate is talking much about it”, in CNN‎:

     But gender is a factor both candidates will navigate in a country that has elected just 51 female state governors in its history.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GOVERNOR

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

   Coordinate terms: modulator, regulator, synchronizer

   • 1958 July, “German Railbuses for British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 501:

     A governor on the injection pump limits the speed when running idle.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GOVERNOR

   • 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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GOVERNOR

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

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GOVERNOR

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.

   • 2023 September 19, Laura He, “China woos Tesla, JP Morgan and other Western companies as foreign investment slumps”, in CNN Business‎:

     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).

     Category:English terms with quotations#GOVERNOR

6. (informalCategory:English informal terms#GOVERNOR) 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."

     Category:English terms with quotations#GOVERNOR

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
7. (informalCategory:English informal terms#GOVERNOR) Boss; employer; gaffer.
8. (UKCategory:British English#GOVERNOR, informalCategory:English informal terms#GOVERNOR, datedCategory:English dated terms#GOVERNOR) Term of address to a man; guv'nor.
   • 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:

     "Oh, right you are, governor, if you say so," accepted Fank […]

     Category:English terms with quotations#GOVERNOR

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
9. (grammarCategory:en:Grammar#GOVERNOR) A constituent of a phrase that governs another.
10. (datedCategory:English dated terms#GOVERNOR) One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian.

    Coordinate term: governess

11. (nauticalCategory:en:Nautical#GOVERNOR) A pilot; a steersman.

Noun

governorCategory:Middle English alternative forms#GOVERNORCategory:Middle English entries with incorrect language header#GOVERNORCategory:Pages with entries#GOVERNORCategory:Pages with 2 entries#GOVERNOR

1. alternative form of governour