Judging by appearances in literature, the British slang term “guv’nor” as a form by which a working-class person addresses one of the gentry has been around at least since Victorian times. Where did it come from? I doubt it comes from the word “governor” meaning a colonial administrator – based on what I know of British social history, most working-class Brits in Victorian times did not even know the Empire existed. Did the word “governor” perhaps have some other use, for a local official or something?
I thought it was just a slang version of “governor” in the sense of “boss”.
Yes, but how did “governor” come to mean “boss”? I’m familiar with it only as a strictly political title.
“Governor” isn’t used solely as the title for the heads of government of the several states in the U.S. It can be used, and is used, in a variety of meanings.
A governor can be the head official in a colony or dependency (that’s where the American usage came from). It is used as the title for the head of the central bank in many countries, and it’s sometimes also used for the commanding officer in penitentiaries. Especially this latter meaning could probably explain the jargon usage for addressing people of higher social standing.
As **Schnitte ** said, it has many more meanings than its political one. A quick look in the Macquarie Dictionary shows:
Like Schnitte said, originally, a “governor” was just somebody in charge of something. So, for example, when the Bank of England was set up, the guy in charge had the title “Governor of the Bank of England”.
“Guv’nor” or just plain “guv” is most prevalent in London slang. I got it off a cab driver there recently. And yes, it does mean “governor”, an archaic word for “boss”, but can be applied to pretty much anyone.
Right you are squire.
Fair enough, chief.
Oh, and a few words to the etymology: “Governor” comes, via French “gouverneur,” from Latin “gubernator,” literally the one who navigates a ship (hence the English adjective gubernatorial). IIRC it was already in antiquity when the word started to be applied metaphorically to someone who reigns or commands something.
“Governor” and “cybernetics” have a common origin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor#Etymology
Fanx, me old china!
(And deevee and jjim, I think that’s the politest exchange I’ve heard between Cambridge and Oxford…)
I’ve also heard it used (in films) to mean someone’s dad, like in Around The World In 80 Days, when a man at the club says he spent his three years at Oxford shooting pool and it cost his “poor old governor” a lot of money.
Is/was it used that way, or is that merely a malapropism of American writers trying to “do British”?
That’s certainly one of the colloquial definitions (the final one) given in the dictionary that I quoted in my earlier post.
One of the many English TV police series was ‘The Sweeney’, which is slang for the Flying Squad (a branch of the London police).
It starred John Thaw as an Inspector and Dennis Waterman as his Sergeant. There were lots of car chases and some shootouts (they dealt with armed robbers…).
(A police friend of mine reckoned it was the most accurate portrayal of the police, but that’s another story!)
Anyway there was a glorious exchange when the Sergeant is asked who two men are (one is his Inspector and the other is the Inspector’s boss.)
“That’s my Guv’nor.”
“You mean your boss.”
“No, he’s my Guv’nor. The other one’s the boss!”
As an English chappie, I would expect this meaning to typically imply:
- a date at least 50 years ago
- a well-off / rich family
- the son to be a University student or living off his family
Historically, the term governor was used both in England and the US to mean a person’s father, cited from 1827.
It is also cited from 1844 as a form of address, meaning sir or fellow. I think it died in the US while still in the 19th century. But continued in England.