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Government - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Government : (noun)
1: the organization that is the governing authority of a
political unit; "the government reduced taxes"; "the
matter was referred to higher authorities" [syn: authorities,
regime]
2: (government) the system or form by which a community or
other political unit is governed; "tyrannical government"
3: the act of governing; exercising authority; "regulations for
the governing of state prisons"; "he had considerable
experience of government" [syn: governing, governance,
government activity]
4: the study of government of states and other political units
[syn: politics, political science]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Government : \Gov"ern*ment\, n. [F. gouvernement. See Govern.]
1. The act of governing; the exercise of authority; the
administration of laws; control; direction; regulation;
as, civil, church, or family government.
2. The mode of governing; the system of polity in a state;
the established form of law.
That free government which we have so dearly
purchased, free commonwealth. --Milton.
3. The right or power of governing; authority.
I here resign my government to thee. --Shak.
4. The person or persons authorized to administer the laws;
the ruling power; the administration.
When we, in England, speak of the government, we
generally understand the ministers of the crown for
the time being. --Mozley & W.
5. The body politic governed by one authority; a state; as,
the governments of Europe.
6. Management of the limbs or body. --Shak.
7. (Gram.) The influence of a word in regard to construction,
requiring that another word should be in a particular
case.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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GOVERNMENT, natural and political law. The manner in which sovereignty is
exercised in each state.
2. There are three simple forms of government, the democratic, the
aristocratic, and monarchical. But these three simple forms may be varied to
infinity by the mixture and divisions of their different powers. Sometimes
by the wordGovernment : is understood the body of men, or the individual in
the state, to whom is entrusted the executive power. It is taken in this
sense when the government is spoken of in opposition to other bodies in the
state.
3. Governments are also divided into monarchical and republican; among
the monarchical states may be classed empires, kingdoms, and others; in
these the sovereignty resides in, a single individual. There are some
monarchical states under the name of duchies, counties, and the like.
Republican states are those where the sovereignty is in several persons.
These are subdivided into aristocracies, where the power is exercised by a
few persons of the first rank in the state; and democracies, which are those
governments where the common people may exercise the highest powers. 1 Bouv.
Inst. n. 20. See Aristocracy; Democracy; Despotism; Monarchy; Theocracy.
4. It should be remembered, however, that governments, for the most
part, have not been framed on models. Their parts and their powers grew out
of occasional acts, prompted by some urgent expediency, or some private
interest, which, in the course of time, coalesced and hardened into usages.
These usages became the object of respect and the guide of conduct long
before they were embodied in written laws. This subject is philosophically
treated by Sir James McIntosh, in his History of England. See vol. 1, p. 71,
et seq.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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Example Usage of Government |
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AliceOnTodd: Allvoicescom Cleanup begins at Alice Springs town camps: A small army of labourers and Government staff have begun ... http://bit.ly/5ig50F |
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FedUpUSA: Government Broke: IRS Taking Indian Land and Selling It http://bit.ly/7upOGF #economy |
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jebraun: RT @JamesOKeefeIII: Breaking news: US Government finds ACORN did nothing wrong when 7/8 offices conspired to facilitate underage prostit ... |
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