regular English · revision 2672

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1387, Trevisa|origins=la rēgula}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈreɡ.jə.lə/, US /ˈreɡ.jə.lɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|reguler]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|reguler|t=ecclesiastical]] (modern régulier),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and directly [[bor|la-lat|rēgulāris|t=containing rules for guidance]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|rēgula|t=rule, straight piece of wood]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source of [[rule]],^(Barnhart 1988) which Etymonline takes to [[ine-pro|*h₃reǵ-|alt=*reg-|t=to move in a straight line]].^(Etymonline) In classical Latin rēgulāris meant “of a bar”.^(MWU 2024) The English spelling was refashioned after the Latin, with -ar, from as early as 1398.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Belonging to a religious order bound by a rule: before 1387, in Trevisa's translation of Higden's ''Polychronicon'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) or about 1400;^(Etymonline) in this earliest use it was the opposite of [[secular]].^(Etymonline) The noun, a member of a religious order, is from about 1400.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the late 16th century the word was extended to shapes, verbs and other things that follow a predictable or uniform pattern:^(Etymonline) following a rule, symmetrical, from 1584,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and steady or uniform in action from 1594,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) a sense implied earlier in the adverb regularly, “in order, systematically” (1392).^(Barnhart 1988) “Normal, conforming to established custom” is from the 1630s,^(Etymonline) and “orderly, well-behaved” from 1705.^(Etymonline) In the army, a soldier of the permanent standing army is a regular from 1756,^(Etymonline) and the adjective in that sense is by 1706.^(Etymonline) “Recurring at fixed times” is by 1756,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the colloquial sense “real, genuine, thorough”, as in ''a regular hero'', from 1821.^(Etymonline) A regular customer is by 1852,^(Etymonline) and in American use regular gasoline is from the 1970s.^(Etymonline) Old English had borrowed Latin regula as regol “rule, canon”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1387 – of a religious order.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – noun, a member of a religious order.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1584 – following a rule; symmetrical.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1594 – steady, uniform.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1630s – normal, customary.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1756 – a soldier of a standing army; recurring at fixed times.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1821 – real, thorough.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1852 – a regular customer.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Usual, normal or customary.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Happening at fixed intervals.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Even, orderly or [[symmetrical]] in form.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Following a fixed procedure or rule.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Following the usual pattern of [[inflection]]: ''regular verbs''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+ # Belonging to a permanent professional [[army]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+ # Belonging to a religious order.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # ''(informal)'' Complete, thorough: ''a regular nuisance''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A habitual [[customer]] or visitor.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A soldier of a regular army.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A member of a religious order.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A player who usually plays in a team's games.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[regularity]]

+ * [[regularly]]

+ * [[regularize]]

+ * [[stereoregular]]

+ * [[subregular]]

+ * [[regular army]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rail]]

+ * [[regal]]

+ * [[regimen]]

+ * [[regulate]]

+ * [[regulation]]

+ * [[rule]]

+ * [[regime]]

+ * [[region]]

+ * [[rectify]]

+ * [[irregular]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In English dialects from Scotland and Ireland to the south of England, ''regular'' was widely used as an intensifying adverb, “thoroughly, completely”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}