Government

How to spell government

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce government

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does government mean?

1. nounThe group of people or system that controls and directs a state, organisation, or community.

Government in a sentence

• The government announced new rules.

• The new government promised lower taxes.

• Local government handles waste collection.

Where does government come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes ultimately from the Greek kybernan, meaning 'to steer a ship', which was borrowed into Latin as gubernare with the same sense of steering or directing. From Latin it passed into Old French as governer, and the noun governement formed by adding the suffix -ment, which turns a verb into a noun naming an action or its result. English took the word in during the 1300s, applying the steering metaphor to the directing of a state or community. The crucial spelling trap is the silent 'n' tucked inside: the root 'govern' keeps its 'n' even though most speakers say 'guvverment', and the very same kybernan root also gives us the modern word 'cybernetics'.

How the word is built

• govern (to rule, direct)
• -ment (noun suffix denoting result or action)