ruler

English

A ruler (measuring device).

Etymology

From Middle English reuler; equivalent to rule +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɹuːlə(ɹ)/
• (UK, goose split) IPA^(key): (measuring device) /ˈɹuː.lə/, [ˈɹʉwlə], (one who rules) /ˈɹuːl.ə/, [ˈɹʊwɫə]

  • audio (UK with goose split)

    (file)

    (device)

  • audio (UK with goose split)

    (file)

    (one who rules)
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹulɚ/

  • audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -uːlə(ɹ)

Noun

ruler (plural rulers)

1. A (usually rigid), flat, rectangular measuring or drawing device with graduations in units of measurement; a straightedge with markings.
2. A person who rules or governs; someone or something that exercises dominion or controlling power over others.
   • 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 122:

     The carcharhinids are unquestionably the rulers of the seas, because of their abundance, their strength and speed, and their unchallenged position as the number one predators in the marine ecosystem.

   • 1991, Chris Mullin, The Year of the Fire Monkey‎^[1] (Fiction), London: Chatto & Windus, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 252:

     LIKE THE MANDARINS of old, the rulers of China live behind high walls. When they emerge, which they rarely do, they travel in cars with rear windows curtained like sedan chairs.
     They live in the Chung Nan Hai, a walled park adjacent to the Forbidden City from where ancient dynasties ruled the Celestial Empire.

Usage notes

In American English, the word "ruler" is often used specifically to refer to such a measuring device that is one foot (12 inches) long. Used in contrast with "yardstick" and "meter stick."

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:ruler
• (measuring instrument): rule

Hyponyms

• See Thesaurus:ruler

Derived terms

• architect's ruler
• drafter's ruler
• home ruler
• parallel ruler
• planet-ruler
• puppet ruler
• scale ruler
• standard ruler

 

Translations

measuring or drawing device

• Afrikaans: liniaal (af), liniale (af) pl
• Albanian: vizore (sq) f
• Arabic: مِسْطَرَة‎ f (misṭara)

  Egyptian Arabic: مسطرة‎ f (masṭara)

  South Levantine Arabic: مسطرة‎ f (másṭara)

• Armenian: քանոն (hy) (kʿanon)
• Asturian: regla (ast) f
• Azerbaijani: xətkeş (az), xətçəkən
• Basque: erregela
• Belarusian: ліне́йка f (linjéjka)
• Bengali: মাপনী (mapni)
• Bulgarian: лини́йка f (liníjka)
• Burmese: မျည်းတံ (myany:tam)
• Catalan: regle (ca) m
• Central Dusun: tutuku
• Cherokee: ᎠᏥᎶᏍᏗ (atsilosdi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 直尺 (zik⁶ cek³)

  Dungan: чызы (čɨzɨ)

  Mandarin: 尺 (zh) (chǐ), 直尺 (zh) (zhíchǐ), 尺子 (zh) (chǐzi)

  Min Nan: 尺 (zh-min-nan) (chhioh)

• Czech: pravítko (cs) n
• Danish: lineal
• Dutch: meetlat (nl), liniaal (nl)
• Esperanto: liniilo
• Estonian: joonlaud
• Finnish: viivain (fi), viivoitin (fi)
• French: règle (fr) f, latte (fr) f
• Galician: regra (gl) f
• Georgian: სახაზავი (saxazavi)
• German: Lineal (de) n
• Greek: χάρακας (el) m (chárakas)

  Ancient: χάραξ m (khárax)

• Hebrew: סַרְגֵל‎ (he) m (sargél)
• Hindi: पैमाना (hi) m (paimānā)
• Hungarian: vonalzó (hu)
• Icelandic: reglustika f
• Ido: linealo (io)
• Indonesian: penggaris (id), mistar (id)
• Irish: rialóir m
• Italian: righello (it) m
• Japanese: 定規 (ja) (じょうぎ, jōgi), 物差し (ja) (ものさし, monosashi), ルーラー (rūrā)
• Kalmyk: кимзә (kimzä)
• Kannada: ಅಳತೆ ಪಟ್ಟಿ (kn) (aḷate paṭṭi)
• Kazakh: сызғыш (kk) (syzğyş)
• Khmer: បន្ទាត់ (km) (bɑntŏət)
• Korean: 자 (ko) (ja)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: rastkêş (ku), cedwel (ku)

• Kyrgyz: сызгыч (ky) (sızgıç)
• Lao: ໄມ້ບັນທັດ (lo) (mai ban that)
• Latgalian: linejals m
• Latin: rēgula f
• Latvian: lineāls (lv) m
• Lithuanian: liniuotė f
• Lü: ᦺᦙᧉᦶᦑᧅ (may²taek)
• Macedonian: линијар m (linijar)
• Malay: pembaris (ms)
• Maltese: riga f
• Manchu: ᡱᡳ (c'y), ᠵᡠᡧᡠᡵᡠ (jušuru)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: шугам (mn) (šugam)

• Navajo: bee ídaʼneelʼąąhí
• Nepali: नाप (nāp), स्केल (skel)
• Norman: relle f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: linjal (no) m

  Nynorsk: linjal m

• Old English: regolsticca m
• Pashto: ختکه‎ f (xataka), خط کښ‎ m (xat kax̌)
• Persian: خط‌کش‎ (xat-keš), خط کش‎ (fa) (xat keš)
• Polish: linijka (pl) f
• Portuguese: régua (pt) f
• Romanian: riglă (ro) f, linie (ro) f
• Russian: лине́йка (ru) f (linéjka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: цр̏тало n, ра̀внало n

  Roman: cȑtalo (sh) n, ràvnalo (sh) n

• Slovak: pravítko n
• Slovene: ravnilo (sl) n
• Spanish: regla (es) f
• Swahili: masharti (sw)
• Swedish: linjal (sv) c
• Tagalog: galod
• Tajik: хат (tg) (xat), хаткашак (xatkašak)
• Tatar: сызгыч (tt) (sızgıç), җәдвәл (cädwäl)
• Thai: ไม้บรรทัด (th) (mái-ban-tát)
• Tigrinya: መስመር (mäsmär)
• Turkish: cetvel (tr)
• Turkmen: lineýka
• Ukrainian: ліні́йка f (liníjka)
• Uyghur: سىزغۇچ‎ (sizghuch)
• Uzbek: lineyka (uz), chizgʻich (uz)
• Vietnamese: thước kẻ (vi), thước (vi)
• Welsh: pren mesur (cy) m, llinellydd m
• Zazaki: peymenek c, mastar m

person who rules or governs

• Afrikaans: heerser
• Albanian: sundimtar (sq) m
• Arabic: حَاكِم‎ m (ḥākim)

  Egyptian Arabic: حاكم‎ m (ḥakem)

• Armenian: տիրակալ (hy) (tirakal)
• Azerbaijani: hökmdar (az), hakim (az), hökmran
• Bashkir: батша (batşa), хаким (xakim)
• Belarusian: праві́цель m (pravícjelʹ), улада́р m (uladár)
• Bengali: শাসক (śaśok)
• Bulgarian: властели́н (bg) m (vlastelín), господа́р (bg) m (gospodár), владе́тел (bg) m (vladétel)
• Burmese: အုပ်ချုပ်သောသူ (uphkyupsau:su)
• Catalan: líder (ca) m, governant (ca) m
• Cherokee: ᎤᎬᏫᏳᎯ (ugvwiyuhi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 統治者／统治者 (zh) (tǒngzhìzhě)

• Czech: vládce (cs) m
• Danish: hersker (da) c
• Dutch: heerser (nl) m
• Egyptian: (ḥqꜣ)
• Esperanto: regnestro
• Estonian: riigivalitseja
• Finnish: hallitsija (fi)
• French: dirigeant (fr) m, chef (fr) m
• Georgian: მმართველი (mmartveli)
• German: Herrscher (de) m
• Gothic: 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 m (reiks), 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌾𐌹𐌽𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 m (fraujinōnds)
• Greek: κυβερνήτης (el) m (kyvernítis)

  Ancient: ἀρχός m (arkhós), ἄρχων m (árkhōn), ἡγεμών m (hēgemṓn)

• Haitian Creole: chèf
• Hebrew: מַנְהִיג‎ (he) m (manhíg), שַׁלִּיט‎ m (shálit)
• Hindi: शासक (hi) m (śāsak), हाकिम (hi) m (hākim), हुक्मरान (hi) m (hukmarān)
• Hungarian: uralkodó (hu)
• Icelandic: alvaldur m, drottnari m
• Indonesian: penguasa (id)
• Irish: rialtóir m
• Italian: sovrano (it) m
• Japanese: 支配者 (ja) (しはいしゃ, shihaisha), 知事 (ちじ, chiji), 統治者 (とうちしゃ, tōchisha)
• Javanese: ratu (jv)
• Kazakh: билеуші (kk) (bileuşı), басқарушы (basqaruşy)
• Kikuyu: mũthamaki class 1
• Korean: 통치자(統治者) (ko) (tongchija)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: hikumdar (ku)

• Kyrgyz: бий (ky) (biy), башкаруучу (ky) (başkaruuçu), аким (ky) (akim)
• Latgalian: vaļdinīks m
• Latin: tyrannus m
• Latvian: valdnieks m
• Lithuanian: valdovas m
• Macedonian: владетел m (vladetel), владар m (vladar)
• Malay: penguasa (ms), pemerintah
• Middle English: reuler, senyour
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: захирагч (mn) (zaxiragč)

• Nahuatl: tecutli
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hersker (no) m, makthaver (no) m

  Nynorsk: herskar m, makthavar m

• Old Prussian: rikīs m
• Old Turkic: 𐰴𐰍𐰣‎ (qǧn¹ /⁠qaɣan⁠/)
• Ottoman Turkish: حكمدار‎ (hükümdar)
• Pashto: حاکم‎ (ps) m (hākem)
• Persian: حاکِم‎ (fa) (hâkem), حُکمران‎ (fa) (hokmrân)
• Polish: władca (pl) m, włodarz m
• Portuguese: governante (pt) m
• Romanian: guvernant (ro) m, domnitor (ro) m
• Russian: прави́тель (ru) m (pravítelʹ), властели́н (ru) m (vlastelín), власти́тель (ru) m (vlastítelʹ), госуда́рь (ru) m (gosudárʹ)
• Sanskrit: अधिप (sa) m (adhipa), शासक (sa) m (śāsaka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: вла̀да̄р m, во̏ђа f

  Roman: vlàdār (sh) m, vȍđa (sh) f

• Slovak: vládca m
• Slovene: vladar (sl) m
• Spanish: gobernante (es)
• Swedish: härskare (sv) c, ledare (sv) c
• Tabaru: koana
• Tagalog: naghahari
• Tajik: ҳоким (hokim), ҳукмдор (hukmdor)
• Tatar: хаким (tt) (xaqim)
• Telugu: అధికారి (te) (adhikāri)
• Ternate: kolano
• Thai: ผู้ว่าการ (pûu-am-nuai-gaan)
• Tocharian B: kamartīke
• Turkish: hükümdar (tr), hükümran (tr)
• Turkmen: hökümdar
• Ukrainian: прави́тель (uk) m (pravýtelʹ), волода́р (uk) m (volodár)
• Urdu: حاکِم‎ m (hākim), حُکْمَران‎ m (hukmarān)
• Uyghur: ھۆكۈمدار‎ (hökümdar), ھاكىم‎ (hakim)
• Uzbek: hukmdor (uz), hokim (uz)
• Vietnamese: người thống trị

a female person who rules or governs

• Afrikaans: heersers
• Belarusian: праві́целька f (pravícjelʹka)
• Bulgarian: владе́телка f (vladételka)
• Czech: vládkyně f
• Danish: herskerinde c
• Dutch: heerseres (nl) f
• German: Herrscherin (de) f
• Hungarian: uralkodónő (hu)
• Latgalian: vaļdineica f
• Latin: dominatrix f
• Latvian: valdniece f
• Lithuanian: valdovė f
• Macedonian: владетелка f (vladetelka)
• Polish: władczyni (pl) f
• Russian: прави́тельница (ru) f (pravítelʹnica), власти́тельница (ru) f (vlastítelʹnica), госуда́рыня (ru) f (gosudárynja)
• Slovak: vládkyňa f
• Swedish: härskarinna (sv) c
• Ukrainian: прави́телька (uk) f (pravýtelʹka)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} sundimtar (sq) m
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} joonlaud
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} pembaris
• Lao: ^{(please verify)} ໄມ້ບັນທັດ (lo) (mai ban that)
• Malay: ^{(please verify)} penguasa (ms)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} upravljač (sh)
• Tagalog: ^{(please verify)} reglador, ^{(please verify)} dinasta
• Tamil: ^{(please verify)} ஆட்சியாளர் (āṭciyāḷar)
• Ukrainian: ^{(please verify)} ліні́йка f (liníjka)
• Uzbek: ^{(please verify)} hokim (uz), ^{(please verify)} idora qiluvchi, ^{(please verify)} chizgʻich (uz)
• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} cây thước, ^{(please verify)} cái thước kẻ
• Yiddish: ^{(please verify)} ווירע‎ f (vire)

Verb

ruler (third-person singular simple present rulers, present participle rulering, simple past and past participle rulered)

1. (transitive) To beat with a ruler (as a traditional school punishment).

Further reading

• “ruler”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “ruler”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• ruler on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Anagrams

• lurer

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from English ruler, from Middle English reuler.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ru‧ler
• IPA^(key): /ˈɾuleɾ/, [ˈɾ̪u.l̪ɪɾ̪]

Noun

ruler

1. ruler (tool)

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English ruler.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ru‧ler
• IPA^(key): /ˈɾuleɾ/, [ˈɾu.lɛɾ]

Noun

ruler (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜓᜎᜒᜇ᜔)

1. ruler (tool)

   Synonyms: reglador, panlinya

Further reading

• “ruler”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2018