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regno

Etymology and origin of the Latin word regno

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₃reǵ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin regnum
Latin regno

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈreːŋ.noː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈrɛɲ.ɲo][1]

Forms

rēgnō (present infinitive rēgnāre, perfect active rēgnāvī, supine rēgnātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin rēgnum (“kingship, kingdom”) + -ō.[2][3][1] ⟨rēgnum⟩ is from rēx (“king”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *rēg- (“king”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rēǵ-s (“ruler, king”).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, ubi Pterela rēx rēgnāvit “where King Pterelas reigned”.[2][6] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[7]

Semantic evolution

It meant to rule as king, reign, as in Plautus and Cicero's Rōmulus septem et trīgintā rēgnāvit annōs “Romulus reigned thirty-seven years”; of gods, to enjoy supremacy, as in Horace; of natural or abstract forces, to be in control, prevail, as in Lucretius; and to play the king, lord it, as in Cicero; transitively, in the passive, to be ruled by a king.[2][6][8]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to reign, rule, govern.[9] It survives as Italian regnare, French régner and Spanish and Portuguese reinar, and English reign comes from the noun rēgnum through Old French.[1][4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[2][7]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of natural forces.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of Romulus.[8][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To rule as king, reign.[2]
  2. (of gods) To enjoy supremacy.[2]
  3. (of forces, emotions) To be in control, prevail.[2]
  4. To play the king, lord it.[2]

Word family

  • corregno
  • rēgnātor
  • rēgnātrīx

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Regno.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/regno. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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