Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “govern” come from?

Govern comes from Middle English governen, from Old French governer, from Latin gubernare, ultimately from Latin guberno meaning to steer or direct a ship.

govern (English): To make and administer the public policy and...

Definitions

  1. To make and administer the public policy and...

Ancestry of “govern”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-anceAdded to an adjective or verb to form a noun...
2Middle English-aunce—
3Old French-ance-ance
4Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
5Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
6Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
7Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “govern”

  • governing
  • ungovernable
  • governable
  • misgovern
  • ungovernability
  • governeth
  • ungovernably
  • governest
  • governee
  • nongoverning
  • ungovernableness
  • governableness
  • cogovern
  • overgovern
  • self-governing
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →