English
regular
Regular comes from Latin rēgulāris ‘continuing rules for guidance’, from rēgula ‘rule’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘move in a straight line’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-1‘move in a straight line’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēgula1‘rule’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēgulāris1‘continuing rules for guidance’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400reguler1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reguler1
- Englishearliest quotation 1868-69regular1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English regular
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1868-69, Louisa May Alcott: ““I don’t see how you can write and act…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-Wiktionary, English regular‘move in a straight line’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēgulaWiktionary, English regular‘rule’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēgulārisWiktionary, English regular‘continuing rules for guidance’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400regulerWiktionary, English regular
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500regulerWiktionary, English regular
- Englishearliest quotation 1868-69regularWiktionary, English regular. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1868-69, Louisa May Alcott: ““I don’t see how you can write and act…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with regular, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘move in a straight line’
- right ← reȝt ← reht ← *reht ← *rehtaz
- real ← rēgālis ← rēx ← *rēks ← *h₃rḗǵs
- source ← sours ← sorse ← surgō ← surrigō
- director ← directeur ← dīrēctōrem ← dīrēctus ← dīrigō
- rich ← riche ← rīċe ← *rīkī ← *rīkijaz
- royal ← roial ← rēgālis ← rēx ← *rēks
- direction ← direccioun ← direccion ← dīrēctiō ← dīrigō
- address ← adressen ← adrecier ← drecier ← *dīrēctiāre
- direct ← dīrēctus ← dīrigō ← regō ← *regō
- correct ← correctus
- region ← regioun ← regiun ← regiō ← regō
- dress ← dressen ← dresser ← *dīrēctiāre ← dīrēctus
143 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
adj Bound by religious rule; belonging to a monastic or religious order (often as opposed to secular).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “regular”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- / regular