Governer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An elected or appointed official who leads the administration of a state or province ; a mechanism that automatically controls the speed of an engine or machine
2. The person who presides over a region as its chief executive ; a regulating device that keeps a motor running at a steady speed
3. A top administrator of a state or territory ; a speed-control component fitted to engines to hold their rotation within set limits

Etymology: The spelling "governer" is a variant of "governor," the person set over a territory or institution to direct it. Its Middle English forms "governer" and "governere" came from Old French "gouvreneur," itself rooted in the verb "govern." Early English speakers therefore used the word for anyone steering a ship, a household, or a state, long before it became a title for a colonial or regional official. The word is built from "govern" plus the agent suffix "-er," so its literal sense is simply "one who governs." English adopted the Old French form and kept the older spelling alongside the forms that eventually became standard, which is why "governer" still appears in older texts and in informal writing today. The modern standard spelling is "governor," and "governer" is now generally regarded as a misspelling.