Governor /(?)/

Gov·ern·or

Governor

n.
  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.
  2. One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian.
  3. A pilot; a steersman. (Naut.) [R.]
  4. A contrivance applied to steam engines, water wheels, and other machinery, to maintain nearly uniform speed when the resistances and motive force are variable. (Mach.)

Phrases & Compounds
Governor cut-off
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
a governor which is operated by the action of a liquid in flowing; a cataract.