guv

[guhv]

See more synonyms for guv on Thesaurus.com

noun Chiefly British Informal.

term of address used to a man, especially by a younger man, boy, employee, or social inferior.
governor(def 6).

Origin of guv

First recorded in 1850–55; by shortening and respelling

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for guv

administrator, supervisor, comptroller, manager, ruler, executive, boss, director, chief, overseer, superintendent, commander, head, leader, controller, guv

Examples from the Web for guv

Contemporary Examples of guv

The Guv quipped, “Here in California, they do have men that become women.”
28,000 X Chromosomes Strong
Lynn Sherr
October 24, 2008

Historical Examples of guv

Not as the guv'nor do anything more'n his duty in puttin' of him out—nowise!
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Beg yer pardon, Guv'nor, but could yer lend me a bathin' suit?
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, July 8, 1914
Various
Gawd love you, guv'nor, they'd fight 'ell's blazes, them chaps would!
Changing Winds
St. John G. Ervine
And, jerking his head back towards the room behind him, "Guv'nor's got it now."
The Burning Spear
John Galsworthy
Tell ye what, jedge, that feller'll be guv'ner of a State one of these days.
Two Arrows
William O. Stoddard

British Dictionary definitions for guv

guv

guv'nor (ˈɡʌvnə)

noun

British an informal name for governor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for guv

1890, shortening of guvner, casual British pronunciation of governor as a title of respect.