rule English · revision 3108

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200, Ancrene Riwle|origins=la rēgula}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ruːl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|riwle]], reule,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|riule]], Norman reule “rule, custom, religious order”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-vul|*regula]], altered under the influence of regere “to rule”,^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|rēgula|t=straight stick, bar, ruler; pattern, model]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) related to [[m|la|regere|t=to rule, straighten, guide]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) which Etymonline takes to [[ine-pro|*h₃reǵ-|alt=*reg-|t=to move in a straight line]].^(Etymonline) In modern French the word was partly re-Latinized as règle.^(Etymonline) The verb is from Old French riuler, reuler, from Late Latin rēgulāre “to regulate”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Latin regere is also the source of [[regent]] and [[royal]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A principle or regulation governing conduct: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'', “the rule for anchoresses”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the code of a religious order before 1225.^(OED 1989) The verb, “to direct, guide”, is also from probably before 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the mid-14th century ''rule'' meant control, government and dominion,^(Etymonline) and a strip with a straight edge for drawing lines or measuring was also a rule then.^(Etymonline) A principle regulating practice, a fixed custom, is from 1387.^(OED 1989) A regulation of a game is from the 1690s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''rules of the game'' by 1787,^(Etymonline) and ''to bend the rules'' by the 1680s.^(Etymonline) ''Rule of thumb'' is from 1692,^(Barnhart 1988) probably from the old use of parts of the body, such as the thumb, as measures.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Rule the roost'' was first ''rule the roast'', from the late 15th century, perhaps of the chief person at a feast, and changed to roost in the 18th century.^(Cresswell 2021) The legal sense of the verb, “to lay down authoritatively”, is from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) “to mark with parallel lines” from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and the slang intransitive sense, “to be the best”, by 1975.^(Etymonline) ''Rule of law'' is from 1883.^(Etymonline) ''Ruler'' is from before 1382, both the person who rules and the straightedge.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a principle governing conduct; verb, to direct.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1225 – the rule of a religious order.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-14th century – government; a straightedge.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1382 – ''ruler''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 15th century – verb, to decide judicially.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 15th century – ''rule the roast''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1590s – verb, to mark with lines.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1692 – ''rule of thumb''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1690s – a rule of a game.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1883 – ''rule of law''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1975 – slang, to be the best.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A stated principle or [[regulation]] governing conduct or procedure, as in a game or organization.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Governing power; [[government]] or the period of it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The usual way things happen; a general principle: ''as a rule''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The code of a religious order.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(law)'' An order or decision of a court.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A straight strip used for measuring or drawing lines; a [[ruler]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(printing)'' A thin line.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[govern]] or control.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To have a dominating influence over.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To decide or declare officially, as a judge.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To mark with straight parallel lines.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(slang)'' To be excellent: ''this band rules''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rulable]]

+ * [[self-ruling]]

+ * [[misrule]]

+ * [[overrule]]

+ * [[rule out]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[regulate]]

+ * [[regent]]

+ * [[regular]]

+ * [[regime]]

+ * [[royal]]

+ * [[right]]

+ * [[rector]]

+ * [[rex]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}