Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized. Government is the means by which state policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state. A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".

States are served by a continuous succession of different governments. Each successive government is composed of a body of individuals who control and exercise control over political decision-making. Their function is to enforce laws, legislate new ones, and arbitrate conflicts. In some societies, this group is often a self-perpetuating or hereditary class. In other societies, such as democracies, the political roles remain, but there is frequent turnover of the people actually filling the positions.

The word government is derived from the Latin infinitive gubernare, meaning "to govern" or "to manage". In parliamentary systems, the word "government" is used to refer to what in presidential systems would be the executive branch. In parliamentary systems, the government is composed of the prime minister and the cabinet. In other cases, "government" refers to executive, legislative, judicial, bureaucratic, and possibly also devolved powers.

In most Western societies, there is a clear distinction between a government and the state. Public disapproval of a particular government (expressed, for example, by not re-electing an incumbent) does not necessarily represent disapproval of the state itself (i.e. of the particular framework of government). However, in some totalitarian regimes, there is not a clear distinction between the regime and the state. In fact, leaders in such regimes often attempt to deliberately blur the lines between the two, in order to conflate their interests with those of the polity.

Verb

govern (third-person singular simple present governs, present participle governing, simple past and past participle governed)

1. (transitive) To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; to exercise sovereign authority in.
2. (transitive) To control the actions or behavior of; to keep under control; to restrain.

   Govern yourselves like civilized people.

   a student who could not govern his impulses.

3. (transitive) To exercise a deciding or determining influence on.

   Chance usually governs the outcome of the game.

4. (transitive) To control the speed, flow etc. of; to regulate.

   a valve that governs fuel intake.

5. (intransitive) To exercise political authority; to run a government.
6. (intransitive) To have or exercise a determining influence.
7. (transitive) To require that a certain preposition, grammatical case, etc. be used with a word; sometimes used synonymously with collocate.

• government
• governance
• governor
• governess

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