1. (n.) One who has power to regulate or direct; one who governs.

2. (n.) An officer appointed to keep a counter register of accounts, or to examine, rectify, or verify accounts.

3. (n.) An iron block, usually bolted to a ship's deck, for controlling the running out of a chain cable. The links of the cable tend to drop into hollows in the block, and thus hold fast until disengaged.