regens

Forms

regēns m (genitive regentis); third declension^[1][2]

Etymology

Used as a noun, it is the present participle from Latin regō (“to rule, direct”).^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD gives it as a noun in the senses of the verb, above all a ruler or commander, and the rider who masters a horse.^[1]

Semantic evolution

Köbler glosses it as a prince or ruler.^[4] In Ecclesiastical Latin it is a director.^[5]

In medieval universities it was a professor:^[6][4] in British medieval Latin the participle meant lecturing or teaching, and as a noun it usually stood for a master who taught, with magister understood.^[7] English regent “ruler” dates from about 1400, and its university sense from the late 14th century.^[3]

Timeline

• 1382 – A master is called regens in artibus, teaching in the faculty of arts.^[7]
• c. 1400 – English has regent “a ruler”, from the medieval Latin word.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A ruler or commander.^[1][4]
2. The rider or master of a horse.^[1]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A director.^[5]
4. (Medieval Latin) A university teacher, a regent master who lectures.^[6][7][4]

Related words

• English regent

Usage notes

In British medieval Latin magister regens and doctor regens were a master or doctor actually teaching, and non regens one who was not, or no longer, teaching.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press