English
governail
Governail comes from Old French governail, from Latin gubernāculum ‘the steering-oar, helm, rudder’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκυβερνάωkubernáō‘to steer, drive, pilot, to be a steersman’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgubernō‘to steer’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgubernāculum‘the steering-oar, helm, rudder’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400governail
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘Government, rule’
- Englishearliest quotation 1786same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκυβερνάωkubernáō‘to steer, drive, pilot, to be a steersman’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgubernō‘to steer’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgubernāculum‘the steering-oar, helm, rudder’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400governail
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘Government, rule’
- Englishearliest quotation 1786same form
Earliest quotation: 1786, John Jeffries, Jean-Pierre Blanchard: “We immediately threw out all the little things we…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek κύρβεις ‘turnable wooden cylinders’
through Ancient Greek κυβερνάω ‘to steer, drive, pilot, to be a steersman’
through Latin gubernō ‘to steer’
Today it means
noun That which steers a nautical vessel; a rudder or a person employing it.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek κυβερνάω / governail