# Gubernatorial?? That sounds dumbass. Why not Governortorial? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 15, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991 "2008-10-15T02:04:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/1 "2008-10-15T02:04:07Z")
Gubernatorial just sounds so stupid. Like “Goober”-something. Why isn’t it Governotorial or Governtorial? Where did the “guber” thing instead of “gover” thing come from? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/2 "2008-10-15T02:08:28Z")
The Latin word for ‘governor’ is ‘gubernator’, which in some ways sounds strikingly similar. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/3 "2008-10-15T02:09:32Z")
It’s Latin. ---
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/4 "2008-10-15T02:15:31Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > The Latin word for ‘governor’ is ‘gubernator’, which in some ways sounds strikingly similar. So why don’t I have a **Gubernator** in my state? ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/5 "2008-10-15T02:16:39Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > So why don’t I have a **Gubernator** in my state? Because you don’t live in California. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/6 "2008-10-15T02:24:13Z")
Governor is actually a somewhat Frenchified version of the Latin _gubernator_, which in turn came from Latin _gubernare_, to steer or to govern, which in turn comes from the Greek _kybernan_, to steer (as in a ship) or to govern. Useless Factoid of the Day: _Kybernan_, going in another direction, is the root of the English word “cybernetic” (that is, having to do with control functions, whether in living organisms or in computers). So, Arnold Schwarzenegger first hit the big time in _The Terminator_ playing a **cyborg** –a cybernetic organism, a blend of machine and living tissue–and later went on to become **governor** of California. I’m sure there’s something deeply significant in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/7 "2008-10-15T03:04:46Z")
I remember a spelling bee when I was in middle school that had gubernatorial in it. I spelled it “goobernutorial.” I still think of Bob Taft, very fondly, as the goobernut. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/8 "2008-10-15T03:06:32Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > The Latin word for ‘governor’ is ‘gubernator’, which in some ways sounds strikingly similar. I’m surprised no one has named a beer The Gubernator yet. ---
**Author:** ![Apex\_Rogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Apex\_Rogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apex_Rogers)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/9 "2008-10-15T18:13:55Z")
“That sounds dumbass.” The peculiar phrasing of the thread title sounds just as stupid as “Gubernatorial” if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/10 "2008-10-15T19:17:06Z")
“Gubernatorial” sounds like a pregnant peanut. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/11 "2008-10-16T15:02:40Z")
I think we should just call Governor’s “goobers”. “The next question goes to Goober Palin.” Yep, I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/12 "2008-10-16T16:47:33Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > Why isn’t it Governotorial or Governtorial? If you were going to shorten it, wouldn’t “governorial” be simplest? Senator / Senatorial Governor / Governorial Archie Bunker once called it the “governor-orial”. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/13 "2008-10-16T23:14:46Z")
When Bob Taft was governor of Ohio, I heard someone say he put the “goober” in gubernatorial. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/14 "2008-10-16T23:20:02Z")
[QUOTE=Rico] > [@Dripping](#): > > So why don’t I have a Gubernator in my state? Because you don’t live in California. [/QUOTE] \ Thank you, **Rico** will be in the thread all week. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gubernatorial-that-sounds-dumbass-why-not-governortorial/467991/15 "2008-10-19T05:01:33Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Governor is actually a somewhat Frenchified version of the Latin _gubernator_, which in turn came from Latin _gubernare_, to steer or to govern, which in turn comes from the Greek _kybernan_, to steer (as in a ship) or to govern. > > Useless Factoid of the Day: _Kybernan_, going in another direction, is the root of the English word “cybernetic” (that is, having to do with control functions, whether in living organisms or in computers). So, Arnold Schwarzenegger first hit the big time in _The Terminator_ playing a **cyborg** –a cybernetic organism, a blend of machine and living tissue–and later went on to become **governor** of California. HA!! That’s amazing! It might even explain why Arnie’s had such a successful life – he’s been a top-ranked bodybuilder, a famous movie star, and the governor of the world’s 5th largest economy. How the FUCK do you pull that off, in one lifetime? I can’t even be arsed to do my laundry half the time. > [@](#): > > I’m sure there’s something deeply significant in there somewhere. Here’s another mystery for you…why is this thread in the Pit? 😕