GOVERNOR

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does governor mean? 

• GOVERNOR (noun)
  The noun GOVERNOR has 2 senses:

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)

  Familiarity information: GOVERNOR used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GOVERNOR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The head of a state government

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("governor" is a kind of...):

politician (a leader engaged in civil administration)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "governor"):

bey (the governor of a district or province in the Ottoman Empire)

eparch (the governor or prefect of an eparchy in ancient Greece)

governor general (a governor of high rank)

military governor (the head of a government established by the military (as in a defeated country))

nabob; nawab (a governor in India during the Mogul empire)

proconsul (a provincial governor of consular rank in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire)

satrap (a governor of a province in ancient Persia)

vicereine; viceroy (governor of a country or province who rules as the representative of his or her king or sovereign)

Derivation:

govern (exercise authority over; as of nations)

governorship (the office of governor)

gubernatorial (relating to a governor)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A control that maintains a steady speed in a machine (as by controlling the supply of fuel)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

governor; regulator

Hypernyms ("governor" is a kind of...):

control; controller (a mechanism that controls the operation of a machine)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "governor"):

flywheel (regulator consisting of a heavy wheel that stores kinetic energy and smooths the operation of a reciprocating engine)

timer (a regulator that activates or deactivates a mechanism at set times)

Derivation:

govern (bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations)

 Context examples 

The Honourable Ronald Adair was the second son of the Earl of Maynooth, at that time governor of one of the Australian colonies.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The governor and his family are served and attended by domestics of a kind somewhat unusual.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

‘You’ve given the governor such a turn,’ said he, ‘that he’ll never be sure again of what you know and what you don’t know.’

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I had the honour to dine with the governor, where a new set of ghosts served up the meat, and waited at table.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

‘The governor is dying,’ were the first words he said.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

After this manner we continued in the island for ten days, most part of every day with the governor, and at night in our lodging.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The governor has never held up his head from that evening, and now the life has been crushed out of him and his heart broken, all through this accursed Hudson.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This tribe marries only among each other, and the eldest in succession is prince or governor.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The kindly, charitable, good old governor—how could he have fallen into the clutches of such a ruffian!

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The governor, at my request, gave the sign for Cæsar and Brutus to advance towards us.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)