governance

UK/ˈɡʌvənəns/US/ˈɡʌvəɹnəns/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,924 of 15,258mostly written

Governance is the way an organisation or a country is run. Good governance, corporate governance, a governance review.

It is about the rules and structures rather than the decisions, which is what separates it from government. Corporate governance is a whole field, and most scandals turn out to be governance failures rather than crimes.

Definitions of governance

1noungovernanceThe way an organisation or a country is run.C1
“After the scandal, the charity promised better governance, with a new board and regular checks.”

governance is a running.

Where it comes from

Old French governance comes from governer, to govern, from Latin gubernare, to steer.

Old French
gouvernance
Middle English
governaunce
English, today
governance

From Middle English governaunce, from Old French gouvernance, governance, equivalent to govern + -ance.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

governance in the wild

Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority.
Self-governance
Self-governance is closely related to various philosophical and socio-political concepts such as autonomy, independence, self-control, self-discipline, and sovereignty.
Self-governance
Governance in this context can apply to corporate, international, national, or local governance as well as the interactions between other sectors of society.
Good governance
The concept of "good governance" thus emerges as a model to compare ineffective economies or political bodies with viable economies and political bodies.
Good governance
Effective corporate governance is essential for ensuring accountability, transparency and long-term sustainability of organizations which is seen especially in publicly traded companies.
Corporate governance

1 / 3

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

← Vocabulary