Meaning

1. The chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country.
2. A device which regulates or controls some action of a machine through automatic feedback.
3. A member of a decision-making body (such as a committee) for a larger organization or entity (including some public agencies), similar to or equivalent to a board of directors (used especially for banks); a member of the board of governors.
4. (informal) Father.
5. (informal) Boss; employer; gaffer.
6. (informal) Term of address to a man; guv'nor.
7. A constituent of a phrase that governs another.
8. One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian.
9. A pilot; a steersman.