government

government
government, governance
Note the n in the middle of government (based on the word govern with the noun suffix -ment), and that it should be pronounced as well as written. Government is the workaday word for the system by which a state or community is governed, and also denotes the process of governing and the particular group that is allegedly doing the governing. Governance is a recherché word of Middle English origin (and therefore two centuries older than government) that is limited in current usage to the action or manner of governing:

• It must be hoped earnestly that succeeding prime ministers will retrieve the principles of good governance —Times, 2007.


Modern English usage. 2014.

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  • government — gov‧ern‧ment [ˈgʌvmənt, ˈgʌvnmənt ǁ ˈgʌvərn ] also Government noun [countable] the group of people responsible for running a country or state and making decisions about taxes, laws, public services etc: • The Government is planning further cuts …   Financial and business terms

  • government — gov·ern·ment / gə vər mənt, vərn / n 1: the act or process of governing; specif: authoritative direction or control 2: the office, authority, or function of governing 3: the continuous exercise of authority over and the performance of functions… …   Law dictionary

  • government — [guv′ərn mənt, guv΄ərmənt] n. [OFr governement: see GOVERN & MENT] 1. a) the exercise of authority over a state, district, organization, institution, etc.; direction; control; rule; management b) the right, function, or power of governing 2 …   English World dictionary

  • Government — Gov ern*ment, 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 Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Government — athlete tax carry tax competitive compassion declinism democrazy dollarize endism fast food zoning …   New words

  • government — late 14c., act of governing or ruling; 1550s, system by which a thing is governed (especially a state), from O.Fr. governement (Mod.Fr. gouvernement), from governer (see GOVERN (Cf. govern)). Replaced M.E. governance. Meaning governing power in a …   Etymology dictionary

  • government — [n] management, administration authority, bureaucracy, command, control, direction, domination, dominion, empire, execution, executive, governance, guidance, influence, jurisdiction, law, ministry, patronage, political practice, politics, polity …   New thesaurus

  • government — ► NOUN 1) (treated as sing. or pl. ) the governing body of a state. 2) the system by which a state or community is governed. 3) the action or manner of governing a state, organization, or people. DERIVATIVES governmental adjective …   English terms dictionary

  • government — governmental /guv euhrn men tl, euhr men /, adj. governmentally, adv. /guv euhrn meuhnt, euhr meuhnt/, n. 1. the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and… …   Universalium

  • Government — For government in linguistics, see Government (linguistics). Part of the Politics series Basic forms of government …   Wikipedia

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