# govern

Pronunciation: US say "GUV-urn" /ˈɡʌv.ɚn/; UK say "GUV-uhn" /ˈɡʌv.ən/

## Verb

1. To make and administer the public policy and affairs of a country, state, or other political unit; to exercise sovereign authority over it.
   - Simple: To lead a country or area and make its laws and big decisions.
   - _The party that wins the election will govern the nation for the next four years._
   - _Rome governed its provinces through appointed officials._
2. To exercise political authority; to be in power and run a government.
   - Simple: To hold political power and be in charge of running a government.
   - _The coalition has governed since the last election._
   - _Those who govern must answer to those they serve._
3. To control or restrain the actions or behavior of someone or something; to keep under control.
   - Simple: To control or hold back actions, feelings, or behavior.
   - _He learned to govern his impulses after years of practice._
   - _The monks governed their appetites through strict daily discipline._
4. To have a deciding or determining influence on something; to shape its nature or outcome.
   - Simple: To decide how something happens or what it will be like.
   - _Supply and demand govern prices in an open market._
   - _Strict treaties governed trade between the two empires._
5. To have or exercise a determining influence; to act as the controlling factor.
   - Simple: To be the thing that decides what happens.
   - _Where the contract is silent, state law governs._
   - _In everyday speech, habit tends to govern._
6. To control the speed, flow, or other rate of something; to regulate it.
   - Simple: To control how fast or how much something moves or flows.
   - _A thermostat governs the temperature inside the greenhouse._
   - _Heavy gates govern the flow of water through the dam._
7. To require that a certain preposition, grammatical case, or other form be used with another word; sometimes used loosely of words that habitually occur together.
   - Simple: To make another word take a certain form, or appear with a certain small word like 'of' or 'to'.
   - _In German, the preposition 'mit' governs the dative case._
   - _Some Russian prepositions govern one case for motion and another for location._

## Noun

8. The act of ruling, controlling or directing someone or something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The act of ruling or being in charge of something.

## Verb

9. To handle, manage, or oversee a matter, an affair, a household, or a similar charge. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To manage or take care of a matter, a piece of business, or a household.
   - _The steward governed the estate's accounts and answered to no one but the earl._
   - _A merchant must govern his correspondence carefully if his trade is to prosper._
10. To direct the course of something; to guide it in a particular direction or steer it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To steer something or guide it in a certain direction.
11. To manage, control, or work a tool or other mechanical device with the hands. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To use or control a tool or machine.
   - _An apprentice spent years learning to govern the lathe._
   - _The printer governed his press alone through the long night._
12. To look after, take care of, or tend to a person or a plant. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To take care of a person or a plant.

## Origin

This word came into Middle English as governen from Anglo-Norman and Old French governer, which came from Latin gubernō, ultimately from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω (kubernáō, "I steer, drive, govern").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/govern (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).