regular
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman reguler, Middle French reguler, regulier, and their source, Latin rēgulāris (“continuing rules for guidance”), from rēgula (“rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *reg- (“move in a straight line”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) enPR: reʹgyo͝olər IPA(key): /ˈɹɛɡjʊlə/
- (US) enPR: reʹgyələr, reʹgyələr, IPA(key): /ˈɹɛɡjəlɚ/, /ˈɹɛɡl̩ɚ/, [ˈɹɛɡjɪ̈lɚ], [ˈɹɛɡl̩ɚ]
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛɡjʊlə(ɹ), -ɛɡjələ(ɹ), -ɛɡələ(ɹ)
- (US) Hyphenation: reg‧u‧lar
Adjective
regular (comparative more regular, superlative most regular)
- (Christianity) Bound by religious rule; belonging to a monastic or religious order (often as opposed to secular). [from 14th c.]
- regular clergy, in distinction from the secular clergy
- 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, page 201:
- A quarter of a million strong in 1680, the clergy was only half as large in 1789. The unpopular regular clergy were the worst affected.
- Having a constant pattern; showing evenness of form or appearance. [from 15th c.]
- (geometry, of a polygon) Both equilateral and equiangular; having all sides of the same length, and all (corresponding) angles of the same size [from 16th c.]
- (geometry, of a polyhedron) Whose faces are all congruent regular polygons, equally inclined to each other.
- Demonstrating a consistent set of rules; showing order, evenness of operation or occurrence. [from 16th c.]
- 2011, AL Kennedy, The Guardian, 12 Apr 2011:
- April may be the cruellest month, but I am planning to render it civilised and to take my antibiotics in a regular manner.
- 2011, AL Kennedy, The Guardian, 12 Apr 2011:
- (now rare) Well-behaved, orderly; restrained (of a lifestyle etc.). [from 16th c.]
- Happening at constant (especially short) intervals. [from 17th c.]
- He made regular visits to go see his mother.
- (grammar, of a verb, plural, etc) Following a set or common pattern; according to the normal rules of a given language. [from 17th c.]
- "Walked" is the past tense of the regular verb "to walk".
- (chiefly US) Having the expected characteristics or appearances; normal, ordinary, standard. [from 17th c.]
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- For a spell we done pretty well. Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand.
- (chiefly military) Permanently organised; being part of a set professional body of troops. [from 17th c.]
- Having bowel movements or menstrual periods at constant intervals in the expected way. [from 18th c.]
- Maintaining a high-fibre diet keeps you regular.
- 2015, Bill Bryson, The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island, page 206:
- Gulls cawed and wheeled overhead, dropping splatty white cluster bombs on rooftops and pavements. Goodness knows what those gulls eat, but it certainly keeps them regular.
- (colloquial) Exemplary; excellent example of; utter, downright. [from 18th c.]
- a regular genius; a regular John Bull
- (botany, zoology) Having all the parts of the same kind alike in size and shape.
- a regular flower; a regular sea urchin
- (crystallography) Isometric.
- (snowboarding) Riding with the left foot forward.
- (mathematical analysis, not comparable, of a Borel measure) Such that every set in its domain is both outer regular and inner regular.
Synonyms
- (unvarying, steady, uniform): equable
- (with constant frequency): uniform
- (normal): normal
- (grammar): weak (verbs)
- (frequent): steady
Antonyms
- (with constant frequency): irregular
- (normal): irregular
- (obeying rules): irregular
- (grammar): irregular, strong (verbs)
- (snowboarding): goofy
Coordinate terms
- (snowboarding): switch
Related terms
Translations
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Adverb
regular (not comparable)
- (archaic, UK, dialect) Regularly, on a regular basis.
- 1861, George Eliot, Silas Marner, London: Penguin Books, published 1967, page 131:
- 'And if the knowledge wasn'y well come by, why, you might ha' made up for it by coming to church reg'lar.'
Noun
regular (plural regulars)
- A member of the British Army (as opposed to a member of the Territorial Army or Reserve).
- A frequent, routine visitor to an establishment.
- Bartenders usually know their regulars by name.
- A frequent customer, client or business partner.
- This gentleman was one of the architect's regulars.
- (Canada) A coffee with one cream and one sugar.
- Anything that is normal or standard.
- 2011, Jamie MacLennan, ZhaoHui Tang, Bogdan Crivat, Data Mining with Microsoft SQL Server 2008
- You separate the marbles by color until you have four groups, but then you notice that some of the marbles are regulars, some are shooters, and some are peewees.
- 2011, Jamie MacLennan, ZhaoHui Tang, Bogdan Crivat, Data Mining with Microsoft SQL Server 2008
- A member of a religious order who has taken the three ordinary vows.
- A number for each year, giving, added to the concurrents, the number of the day of the week on which the Paschal full moon falls.
- A fixed number for each month serving to ascertain the day of the week, or the age of the moon, on the first day of any month.
Synonyms
- (routine visitor): frequenter, habitué, patron, usual suspects
Translations
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References
- “regular”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “regular”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Asturian
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.
Adjective
regular (epicene, plural regulares)
Related terms
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre, present active infinitive of rēgulō. Compare the doublet reglar, borrowed earlier from the same source.
Verb
regular (first-person singular indicative present regulo, past participle reguláu)
- to regulate
Conjugation
Catalan
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.
Adjective
regular m or f (masculine and feminine plural regulars)
- regular (having a constant pattern)
- Antonym: irregular
- normal, average
- (geometry) regular (both equilateral and equiangular)
- Antonym: irregular
Derived terms
Related terms
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre, present active infinitive of rēgulō.
Verb
regular (first-person singular present regulo, first-person singular preterite regulí, past participle regulat)
- (transitive) to regulate
Conjugation
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “regular” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “regular”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “regular” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “regular” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Portuguese
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.
Adjective
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Declension
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Latin rēgulō. Compare the doublet regrar, borrowed earlier from the same source.
Verb
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Conjugation
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Related terms
Spanish
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.
Adjective
regular m or f (masculine and feminine plural regulares)
- regular, steady, even
- fair, fairly good, average
- common, ordinary, middling, so-so
- (grammar) regular
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre, present active infinitive of rēgulō.
Verb
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Conjugation
Related terms
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