Intergovernmental

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Involving coordination, actions, or agreements among multiple governments and their entities
2. Pertaining to the collaborative relationships or agreements established between various governmental systems or organizations
3. Relating to activities or agreements made jointly by two or more governments

Etymology: The adjective "intergovernmental" is a straightforward modern compound: the Latin prefix "inter-", meaning "between" or "among", attached to "governmental". The base word has a more traceable pedigree. Ancient Greek "kubernáō" meant "to steer a ship", and Latin borrowed it as "gubernāre", which carried the same nautical sense. The image of a pilot at the helm gradually widened into the idea of directing or ruling a state, passing through Old French "governer" and into English as "government". "Governmental" adds the suffix "-al", a Latin-derived ending meaning "relating to", giving the sense "of or relating to government." Attaching "inter-" to that produces a word for activity that happens between separate governments rather than within one.