v. i. To exercise authority; to administer the laws; to have the control. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

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.

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 ]

n. 1. An unpleasant feeling, such as a headache, occurring as an aftereffect from the use of drugs (especially alcohol). [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. an official who remains in office after his term.
Syn. -- holdover. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

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 ]

a. Not governable; not capable of being governed, ruled, or restrained; licentious; wild; unbridled; as, ungovernable passions. -- Un*gov"ern*a*bly, adv. Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]