Misgovernor

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who administers public office or authority incompetently or dishonestly
2. Someone in a position of power who manages affairs poorly or corruptly
3. A ruler or administrator whose governance is marked by incompetence or malfeasance

Etymology: Beneath this word is a ship's helm. "Governor" descends from Greek "kybernētēs", meaning steersman, the person who held the rudder. Latin borrowed it as "gubernator", and Old French reshaped it into "governeor", which English adopted for anyone directing a state, a province or an institution rather than a boat. The prefix mis- comes from Old English and means "wrongly" or "badly". Attached to "governor", it describes someone who steers a community poorly, so the word is a transparent compound whose meaning is the sum of its two parts.