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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

government

/ˈɡʌv.ɚ(n).mənt/
The body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.

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    Origin

    From Middle English governement, from Old French governement (modern French gouvernement), from governer (see govern) + -ment. Morphologically govern + -ment. Displaced native Old English gerec, leodweard, ræden, rǣding and ealdordōm.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishgovernement
      • borrowedOld Frenchgovernement
        • partOld Frenchgoverner
          • inheritedLatingubernō “to pilot, govern”
            • borrowedAncient Greekκυβερνάω “to steer, drive, govern”
        • partOld French-ment
          • inheritedLatin-mentum “instrument; medium; result of”
            • inheritedProto-Italic*-mentom
    • suffixEnglish-y “Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives meaning “having the quality of”, either “involving…”
      • inheritedMiddle English-y
        • derivedMiddle English-ie
        • inheritedOld English-iġ
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*-ōn
    • prefixEnglishuni- “one, single”
      • derivedLatinūni- “one”
        • derivedLatinūnus “one”
    • partEnglishunified “united into a whole”
    • partEnglishgov “A term of address to a person, usually a stranger or a superior.”

    Meanings

    noun
    1. The body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.
    2. The relationship between a word and its dependents.
    3. The state and its administration viewed as the ruling political power.
    4. The management or control of a system.
    5. The tenure of a head of government; the ministry or administration led by a specified individual.
    6. In a parliamentary system, the political party or coalition in power; its condition of being in power.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: government