VoivodeAlso spelled "voievod", "woiwode", "voivod", "voyvode", "vaivode", "vojvoda", "waiwode", "weywode", or "woiwod" (Old Slavic, literally "warlord") is a Slavic title that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force (warlord). The word gradually came to denote the governor of a province.