government

government
   A general term that with a capital G refers narrowly to the group of individuals who in a democracy are elected to control the operation of the state at any time (for example, the present Labour Government) or with a small g refers more widely to the institutions which are part of the constitutional system (as when we speak of the British system of government) and the actual act of governing. In the second sense, the term includes the institutions of government and those who work in them, which are responsible for making collective decisions on behalf of society – not just elected ministers, but also non-elected civil servants, advisers and members of various public and private bodies. Government is then the mechanism through which order is maintained. A government possesses a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a state, securing the internal and external sovereignty of the state being its major tasks.

Glossary of UK Government and Politics . 2013.

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  • government — gov‧ern‧ment [ˈgʌvmənt, ˈgʌvnmənt ǁ ˈgʌvərn ] also Government noun [countable] the group of people responsible for running a country or state and making decisions about taxes, laws, public services etc: • The Government is planning further cuts …   Financial and business terms

  • government — gov·ern·ment / gə vər mənt, vərn / n 1: the act or process of governing; specif: authoritative direction or control 2: the office, authority, or function of governing 3: the continuous exercise of authority over and the performance of functions… …   Law dictionary

  • government — [guv′ərn mənt, guv΄ərmənt] n. [OFr governement: see GOVERN & MENT] 1. a) the exercise of authority over a state, district, organization, institution, etc.; direction; control; rule; management b) the right, function, or power of governing 2 …   English World dictionary

  • Government — Gov ern*ment, n. [F. gouvernement. See {Govern}.] 1. The act of governing; the exercise of authority; the administration of laws; control; direction; regulation; as, civil, church, or family government. [1913 Webster] 2. The mode of governing;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • government — government, governance Note the n in the middle of government (based on the word govern with the noun suffix ment), and that it should be pronounced as well as written. Government is the workaday word for the system by which a state or community… …   Modern English usage

  • Government — athlete tax carry tax competitive compassion declinism democrazy dollarize endism fast food zoning …   New words

  • government — late 14c., act of governing or ruling; 1550s, system by which a thing is governed (especially a state), from O.Fr. governement (Mod.Fr. gouvernement), from governer (see GOVERN (Cf. govern)). Replaced M.E. governance. Meaning governing power in a …   Etymology dictionary

  • government — [n] management, administration authority, bureaucracy, command, control, direction, domination, dominion, empire, execution, executive, governance, guidance, influence, jurisdiction, law, ministry, patronage, political practice, politics, polity …   New thesaurus

  • government — ► NOUN 1) (treated as sing. or pl. ) the governing body of a state. 2) the system by which a state or community is governed. 3) the action or manner of governing a state, organization, or people. DERIVATIVES governmental adjective …   English terms dictionary

  • government — governmental /guv euhrn men tl, euhr men /, adj. governmentally, adv. /guv euhrn meuhnt, euhr meuhnt/, n. 1. the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and… …   Universalium

  • Government — For government in linguistics, see Government (linguistics). Part of the Politics series Basic forms of government …   Wikipedia

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