Governor \Gov"ern*or\, n. [OE. governor, governour, OF.
   governeor, F. gouverneur, fr. L. gubernator steersman, ruler,
   governor. See Govern.]
   1. One who governs; especially, one who is invested with the
      supreme executive authority in a State; a chief ruler or
      magistrate; as, the governor of Pennsylvania. "The
      governor of the town." --Shak.
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   2. One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a
      tutor; a guardian.
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   3. (Naut.) A pilot; a steersman. [R.]
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   4. (Mach.) A contrivance applied to steam engines, water
      wheels, and other machinery, to maintain nearly uniform
      speed when the resistances and motive force are variable.

   Note: The illustration shows a form of governor commonly used
         for steam engines, in wich a heavy sleeve (a) sliding
         on a rapidly revolving spindle (b), driven by the
         engine, is raised or lowered, when the speed varies, by
         the changing centrifugal force of two balls (c c) to
         which it is connected by links (d d), the balls being
         attached to arms (e e) which are jointed to the top of
         the spindle. The sleeve is connected with the throttle
         valve or cut-off through a lever (f), and its motion
         produces a greater supply of steam when the engine runs
         too slowly and a less supply when too fast.
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   Governor cut-off (Steam Engine), a variable cut-off gear in
      which the governor acts in such a way as to cause the
      steam to be cut off from entering the cylinder at points
      of the stroke dependent upon the engine's speed.

   Hydraulic governor (Mach.), a governor which is operated by
      the action of a liquid in flowing; a cataract.
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