control

English

Etymology

From Middle English conterrolle, from Old French contrerole, from Medieval Latin contrarotulum (“a counter-roll or register used to verify accounts”), from Latin contra (“against, opposite”) + Medieval Latin rotulus, Latin rotula (“roll, a little wheel”), diminutive of rota (“a wheel”).

Pronunciation

(US) IPA: /kənˈt(ʃ)roʊl/, X-SAMPA: /k@n"t(S)roUl/
(UK) IPA: /kənˈtrəʊl/, X-SAMPA: /k@n"tr@Ul/
Audio (US)
(file)

Verb

control (third-person singular simple present controls, present participle controlling, simple past and past participle controlled)

To exercise influence over, to suggest or dictate the behavior of, oversit.
- With a simple remote, he could control the toy truck.
- 2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19:
  In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra–wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.

Derived terms

Related terms

regulate

Translations

to exercise influence over, to suggest or dictate the behavior of

Basque: kontrolatu (eu)
Bulgarian: контролирам (bg) (kontrolíram), управлявам (bg) (upravljávam)
Catalan: controlar (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 控制 (cmn) (kòngzhì), 管制 (cmn) (guǎnzhì)
Czech: řídit (cs), ovládat (cs)
Danish: styre (da) (Do not confuse with kontrollere (da), which means to check and/or to verify)
Dutch: besturen (nl), beheersen (nl) (in modern usage also controleren (nl), though this is still considered an anglicism by many)
Finnish: hallita (fi), ohjata (fi), kontrolloida (fi), varmistaa (fi), valvoa (fi)
French: contrôler (fr)
Galician: controlar
German: steuern (de), kontrollieren (de)
Greek: ελέγχω (el) (eléncho)
Gujarati: niyantran
Haitian Creole: kontwole
Hebrew: לשלוט (he) (lishlot')
Hindi: niyantran
Hungarian: szabályoz (hu), korlátoz (hu), kontrollál (hu)

Indonesian: mengendalikan, mengontrol
Italian: controllare (it), influenzare (it)
Japanese: 制御する (ja) (せいぎょする, seigyo-suru), 支配する (ja) (しはいする, shihai-suru), コントロールする (ja) (kontorōru-suru)
Korean: 조절하다 (ko), 통제하다 (ko)
Latin: impero (la), teneo (la)
Malay: mengawal, menguasai
Maori: whakamatua (mi)
Polish: kontrolować, sterować, zarządzać, nadzorować
Portuguese:
(Brazil): controlar
Romanian: a comanda, a controla
Russian: управлять (ru) (upravlját') impf., контролировать (ru) (kontrolírovat') impf.
Scottish Gaelic: srian (gd), ceannsaich (gd)
Spanish: controlar (es)
Swedish: kontrollera (sv)
Telugu: నియంత్రించు (niyamtrinchu)
Tok Pisin: bosim (tpi)
Turkish: kontrol etmek (tr), kumanda etmek (tr)
Urdu: qaboo krna (ur)

Noun

control (plural controls)

Influence or authority over.
The government has complete control over the situation.
A separate group or subject in an experiment against which the results are compared where the primary variable is low or nonexistence.
The method and means of governing the performance of any apparatus, machine or system, such as a lever, handle or button.
restraint or ability to contain one's emotions, or self-control.
A security mechanism, policy, or procedure that can counter system attack, reduce risks, and resolve vulnerabilities; a safeguard or countermeasure.
(project management) A means of monitoring for, and triggering intervenion in, activities that are not going according to plan.
(graphical user interface) An interface element that a computer user interacts with, such as a window or a text box.

Synonyms

(GUI): widget

Derived terms

Terms derived from control (noun)

Related terms

regulation

Translations

authority

Bulgarian: власт (bg) (vlast) f, управление (bg) (upravlenie) n
Catalan: control (ca) m
Czech: kontrola (cs), nadvláda (cs), správa (cs)
Dutch: beheersing (nl) f
Esperanto: kontrolo (eo)
Estonian: võim (et), kontroll (et)
German: Kontrolle (de) f
Greek: έλεγχος (el) (élegkos) m
Indonesian: kendali (id)

Irish: urlámhas (ga) m
Korean: 조절 (ko), 통제 (ko)
Latin: imperium (la)
Malay: kawalan (ms)
Polish: kontrola (pl) f
Romanian: control (ro) n, autoritate (ro) f
Russian: власть (ru) (vlast') f, контроль (ru) (kontról') m
Spanish: administración (es) f, control (es) m, dirección (es) f, manejo (es) m, organización (es) f
Turkish: kontrol (tr)

in an experiment

Bulgarian: контролна група (bg) (kontrolna grupa)
Estonian: kontrollgrupp (et)
German: Kontrollgruppe (de) f
Greek: έλεγχος (el) (élegkos) m
Latin: imperator (la), imperium (la) n

Polish: : grupa kontrolna (pl) f
Romanian: grup de control (ro) n, grup de comparație (ro) n
Russian: контрольная группа (ru) (kontról'naja grúppa) f
Spanish: patrón de comparación (es) m

machine

Catalan: control (ca) m
German: Kontrollen (plural)
Greek: έλεγχος (el) (élegkos) m

Latin: imperium (la) n
Romanian: control (ro) n, comandă (ro) f
Spanish: control (es) m, mando (es) m

security mechanism

Greek: έλεγχος (el) (élegkos) m
Korean: 제어 (ko)
Latin: imperium (la) n

Romanian: control (ro) n
Spanish: contramedida (es) f

emotional restraint

Bulgarian: сдържаност (bg) (sdǎržanost) f, самообладание (bg) (samoobladanie) n
Finnish: itsehillintä (fi)
Greek: έλεγχος (el) (élegkos) m
Irish: srianadh (ga) m

Latin: imperium (la) n
Polish: samokontrola (pl) f
Spanish: control (es) m, autodominio (es) m

graphical user interface element

German: Kontrollelement (de) n, Steuerelement (de) n
Latin: imperium (la) n

Polish: kontrolka (pl) f
Romanian: element de control (ro) n

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Czech: ovládání n (method and means)
Danish: kontrol
Dutch: controle f, invloed m
Finnish: hallinta, vertailuryhmä, ohjaus
French: contrôle m
Hebrew: שליטה (shlit'a) f (1)

Japanese: 制御 (せいぎょ, seigyo)(1), 支配 (しはい, shihai)(1), 対照 (たいしょう, taishō)(2), コントロール (kontorōru)(1,3)
Kurdish: kontrol (ku) f
Portuguese:
(Brazil): controle
Swahili: (kontroli)
Swedish: kontroll (sv) c (1,3), kontrollgrupp (sv) c(2)
Telugu: నియంత్రణ (niyamtrana) (1)