[guhv-er-ner, ‑uh-ner] Pronunciation Key | 1. | the executive head of a state in the U.S. |
| 2. | a person charged with the direction or control of an institution, society, etc.: the governors of a bank; the governor of a prison. |
| 3. | Also called governor general. the representative of the crown, as in the Commonwealth of Nations. |
| 4. | a ruler or chief magistrate appointed to govern a province, town, fort, or the like. |
| 5. | Machinery. a device for maintaining uniform speed regardless of changes of load, as by regulating the supply of fuel or working fluid. |
| 6. | British Informal.
|
]
[r] Pronunciation Key of
[guhv-er-ner], producing the pronunciation
[guhv-uh-ner]. This pronunciation is heard even in regions where postvocalic
[r] is not usually dropped. A further loss, of the medial unstressed vowel, results in
[guhv-ner]. All three pronunciations are standard. See colonel, February, library.Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| gov·er·nor
(gŭv'ər-nər) Pronunciation Key
n.
|
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| governor | |
noun | |
| 1. | the head of a state government |
| 2. | a control that maintains a steady speed in a machine (as by controlling the supply of fuel) |
Main Entry: gov·er·nor
Pronunciation: 'g&-v&r-n&r
Function: noun
: one that governs: as a : one that exercises authority esp. over an area or group b : an official elected or appointed to act as ruler, chief executive, or nominal head of a political unit; specifically : the chief executive of a U.S. state c : the managing director and usually the principal officer of an institution or organization d : a member of a group that controls or directs an institution
Governor
Gov"ern*or\, 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. 2. One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian. 3. (Naut.) A pilot; a steersman. [R.] 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. Note: 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. 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.
Governor
(1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of the Aaronites (1 Chr. 12:27), keeper of the sacred treasury (26:24), captain of the army (13:1), the king (1 Sam. 9:16), the Messiah (Dan. 9:25). (2.) Heb. nasi, raised; exalted. Used to denote the chiefs of families (Num. 3:24, 30, 32, 35); also of tribes (2:3; 7:2; 3:32). These dignities appear to have been elective, not hereditary. (3.) Heb. pakid, an officer or magistrate. It is used of the delegate of the high priest (2 Chr. 24:11), the Levites (Neh. 11:22), a military commander (2 Kings 25:19), Joseph's officers in Egypt (Gen. 41:34). (4.) Heb. shallit, one who has power, who rules (Gen. 42:6; Ezra 4:20; Eccl. 8:8; Dan. 2:15; 5:29). (5.) Heb. aluph, literally one put over a thousand, i.e., a clan or a subdivision of a tribe. Used of the "dukes" of Edom (Gen. 36), and of the Jewish chiefs (Zech. 9:7). (6.) Heb. moshel, one who rules, holds dominion. Used of many classes of rulers (Gen. 3:16; 24:2; 45:8; Ps. 105:20); of the Messiah (Micah 5:2); of God (1 Chr. 29:12; Ps. 103:19). (7.) Heb. sar, a ruler or chief; a word of very general use. It is used of the chief baker of Pharaoh (Gen. 40:16); of the chief butler (40:2, etc. See also Gen. 47:6; Ex. 1:11; Dan. 1:7; Judg. 10:18; 1 Kings 22:26; 20:15; 2 Kings 1:9; 2 Sam. 24:2). It is used also of angels, guardian angels (Dan. 10:13, 20, 21; 12:1; 10:13; 8:25). (8.) Pehah, whence _pasha_, i.e., friend of the king; adjutant; governor of a province (2 Kings 18:24; Isa. 36:9; Jer. 51: 57; Ezek. 23:6, 23; Dan. 3:2; Esther 3: 12), or a perfect (Neh. 3:7; 5:14; Ezra 5:3; Hag. 1:1). This is a foreign word, Assyrian, which was early adopted into the Hebrew idiom (1 Kings 10:15). (9.) The Chaldean word _segan_ is applied to the governors of the Babylonian satrapies (Dan. 3:2, 27; 6:7); the prefects over the Magi (2:48). The corresponding Hebrew word _segan_ is used of provincial rulers (Jer. 51:23, 28, 57); also of chiefs and rulers of the people of Jerusalem (Ezra 9:2; Neh. 2:16; 4:14, 19; 5:7, 17; 7:5; 12:40). In the New Testament there are also different Greek words rendered thus. (1.) Meaning an ethnarch (2 Cor. 11:32), which was an office distinct from military command, with considerable latitude of application. (2.) The procurator of Judea under the Romans (Matt. 27:2). (Comp. Luke 2:2, where the verb from which the Greek word so rendered is derived is used.) (3.) Steward (Gal. 4:2). (4.) Governor of the feast (John 2:9), who appears here to have been merely an intimate friend of the bridegroom, and to have presided at the marriage banquet in his stead. (5.) A director, i.e., helmsman; Lat. gubernator, (James 3:4).
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.