ˈgə]və(r)mənt, ]və(r)nm-, ]v( ə )m-, ]b( ə )m- noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle French governement, from governer to govern + -ment
1. obsolete
a. : management of the limbs or the whole body
shot many a dart at me … but I them warded all with wary government — Edmund Spenser
b. : moral conduct or behavior : discretion
harsh rage, defect of manners, want of government — Shakespeare
2. : the act or process of governing : authoritative direction or control
to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces — U.S. Constitution
unusual talent for the instruction and government of the young — S.P.Chase & J.K.Snyder
3.
a. : the office, authority, or function of governing
the government I cast upon my brother and to my state grew stranger — Shakespeare
persuaded … to accept the government of Dover Castle — James Tyrrell
b. obsolete : the term during which a governing official holds office
his fact, till now in the government of Lord Angelo, came not to an undoubtful proof — Shakespeare
4. archaic : an area organized as a political unit ; especially : a territorial division ruled by a governor
I pass'd through most of the Protestant governments in Europe — Joseph Addison
the czar … divided the empire into eight governments — Charles Whitworth
5.
a. : the influence of one word on another word that is required to be in a certain case or mood when it occurs in the same construction — called also regimen
b. : the effect of this influence
6.
a. : the continuous exercise of authority over and the performance of functions for a political unit : rule
the end of government is the good of mankind — John Locke
constitutional government does not exist unless procedural restraints are established — C.J.Friedrich
before the fourteenth century … government had meant very largely the administration of justice — Christopher Morris
he was active in school government — Current Biography
b. : the political function of policy making as distinguished from the administration of policy decisions
7.
a. : the organization, machinery, or agency through which a political unit exercises authority and performs functions and which is usually classified according to the distribution of power within it
the distinction between constitutional and absolute governments — G.H.Sabine
framing a government which is to be administered by men over men — James Madison
the great growth of the national government — W.S.Sayre
advanced through the ranks of his church's government — Current Biography
industrial capitalism … created clusters of private government — R.J.Harris
— see aristocracy 2a, democracy 1b, dictatorship 3, monarchy , oligarchy , republic , tyranny
b. : the complex of political institutions, laws, and customs through which the function of governing is carried out in a specific political unit
the shifting of functions … which has characterized American government — C.F.Snider
students of French government
an attempt to derive information about trade-union government — Times Literary Supplement
8. : the body of persons that constitutes the governing authority of a political unit or organization: as
a. : the officials collectively comprising the governing body of a political unit and constituting the organization as an active agency
a world in which governments … are highly and effectively resolved to work together — F.D.Roosevelt
the government had succeeded in transporting … tons of equipment inland — Wendell Willkie
correspondence … that passed between the American government and the German government — Chicago Daily News
b. usually capitalized : the executive branch of the United States federal government including the political officials and usually the permanent civil service employees : administration 6a
the senator's treatment of Government witnesses before the committee
the Government's case was argued before the Supreme Court
c. usually capitalized : a small group of persons holding simultaneously the principal political executive offices of a nation or other political unit and responsible for the direction and supervision of public affairs:
(1) : such a group in a parliamentary system constituted by the cabinet or by the ministry
His Majesty's Government feel they have the right to know where they stand with the House of Commons — Sir Winston Churchill
the typical opposition maneuver designed to embarrass the Government — H.L.Bretton
apart from providing a Government, the main functions of the New Zealand Parliament are firstly to legislate — Walter Nash
(2) : administration 6b
9. : political science
the other social sciences including economics and government — Weston La Barre
10. : a security (as a bond) issued by or on behalf of the United States government — usually used in plural
reserves in the form of cash or governments — G.A.Mooney