# government

Pronunciation: US say "GUV-urn-muhnt" /ˈɡəvɚ(n)mənt/; UK say "GUV-uhn-muhnt" /ˈɡʌvə(n)mənt/

## Noun

1. The body that holds the power to make and enforce laws over a country, region, people, or organization.
   - Simple: The group of people who make and enforce the laws of a country or area.
   - _The government raised taxes to pay for new schools and roads._
   - _Citizens expect their government to protect basic rights and keep order._
2. The particular party, coalition, or leader holding power at a given time, or their period in office.
   - Simple: The group or leader in power at a certain time, or how long they are in power.
   - _The Thatcher government lasted more than a decade._
   - _Many of these reforms began under the previous government._
3. Ellipsis of government name: a person's real legal name, rather than a nickname or alias. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Ellipsis of government name. It means a person's full legal name as it appears on official records.
   - _He finally revealed his government when the contract needed signing._
   - _Everyone called him Spider, but his government was Marcus Webb._
4. In formal debating, the team responsible for presenting and arguing for a resolution, standing against the opposition.
   - Simple: In a debate, the team that argues in favor of the topic, not against it.
   - _The government opened the debate by defining the motion clearly._
   - _As the government, they had to prove the resolution was true._
5. In grammar, the relationship by which one word determines the grammatical form of the words that depend on it.
   - Simple: The way one word controls the form of other words connected to it.
   - _The government of the verb requires its object to appear in the accusative._
   - _Latin grammar books spend whole chapters on government, showing which case each verb demands._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The ongoing management or control of a system or process.

## Origin

From Middle English governement, borrowed from Old French governement (modern French gouvernement), built from governer 'to govern' (see govern) plus the suffix -ment. It replaced several native Old English words such as gerec and ealdordōm.

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