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Webster 1913 Edition


Governance

Gov′ern-ance

,
Noun.
[F. gouvernance.]
Exercise of authority; control; government; arrangement.
Chaucer.
J. H. Newman.

Webster 1828 Edition


Governance

GOV'ERNANCE

,
Noun.
Government; exercise of authority; direction; control; management, either of a public officer, or of a private guardian or tutor.

Definition 2024


governance

governance

English

Alternative forms

Noun

governance (plural governances)

  1. The process, or the power, of governing; government or administration.
    • 2012 March 1, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 87:
      But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.
  2. The specific system by which a political system is ruled.
  3. The group of people who make up an administrative body.
  4. The state of being governed.
  5. (management) Accountability for consistent, cohesive policies, processes and decision rights.

Hyponyms

  • corporate governance
  • open governance

Translations