regulus Latin · revision 33746

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=116–27 BC, Varro|origins=ine-pro *h₃rēǵ-s}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈreː.ɡʊ.ɫʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈrɛː.ɡu.lus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''rēgulus''' ''m'' (genitive rēgulī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|rēx|-ulus|t1=king]], a diminutive, “little king”.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(TLL) De Vaan traces [[m|la|rēx]] to [[itc-pro|*rēg-|t=king]] and [[ine-pro|*h₃rēǵ-s|t=ruler, king]], cognate with [[sga|rí|t=king]] and [[sa|राज्|tr=rā́j-|t=king]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from Varro,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who uses it of the queen bee: the beekeeper must see that there are not several “kings” in a hive.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is a king of a small territory, a petty king or chieftain, a word Lewis & Short call frequent in the historians but absent from Caesar and Cicero.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Sallust and Livy use it often, and Tacitus speaks of the chieftains of the Cilicians.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Livy also applies it to a king's son, the son of Masinissa.^(OLD 2012) In Late Latin it is also a kind of serpent, the basilisk, a meaning taken over from Greek [[m|grc|βασιλίσκος|tr=basilískos|t=little king]],^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995) and Wiktionary also gives the bird called kinglet or wren.^(Wiktionary) The bright star in Leo was called ''Regulus'' in Modern Latin, apparently first by Copernicus, probably translating the Greek name.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro, of the queen bee.^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 86–34 BC – Sallust, of petty kings.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy, of chieftains and of a king's son.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 98–115 AD – Tacitus, of the chieftains of the Cilicians.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1550s – ''Regulus'' as the name of a star in Leo.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A king of a small territory, a petty king, [[m|en|chieftain]], prince.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A king's son.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The queen bee.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Late Latin)'' A kind of serpent, the [[m|en|basilisk]].^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A small bird, the [[m|en|kinglet]] or wren.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rēgālis]]

+ * [[rēgīna]]

+ * [[rēgnum]]

+ * [[rēx]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ With a capital, ''Rēgulus'' was a cognomen in several Roman families, above all that of Marcus Atilius Regulus, the general of the First Punic War who was captured by the Carthaginians and chose to return to punishment rather than break his word.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}