Where does “governor” come from?
Governor derives from Middle English governour, from Old French gouvreneur, from Latin gubernator, an agent noun formed with Latin -tor from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω meaning to steer or direct.
governor (English): The chief executive officer of a first-level...
Definitions
- The chief executive officer of a first-level...
Ancestry of “governor”, step by step
governor traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English govenour
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | govenour | — |
| 2 | Old French | gouvreneur | governor; steersman |
| 3 | Latin | gubernātor | Helmsman or pilot of a boat |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | κυβερνήτης | captain, steersman, pilot, navigator; guide,... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via Middle English governour
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | governour | An administrator or leader; one who heads and/or... |