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regular

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: regulär

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English reguler, from Anglo-Norman reguler, Middle French reguler, regulier, and their source, Latin rēgulāris (“continuing rules for guidance”), from rēgula (“rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“move in a straight line”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: regʹyo͝olər, IPA(key): /ˈɹɛɡ.jʊ.lə(ɹ)/
  • (Indic) enPR: regʹ(y)o͝olər, IPA(key): /ˈrɛɡ.(j)ʊ.lə(r)/
  • (US) enPR: regʹyələr, regʹlər, IPA(key): /ˈɹɛɡ.jə.lɚ/, [ˈɹɛɡ.jɪ̈.lɚ]; /ˈɹɛɡ.l̩ɚ/, [ˈɹɛɡ.l̩ɚ] (reg'lar)
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • (US) Hyphenation: reg‧u‧lar
  • Rhymes: -ɛɡjʊlə(ɹ), -ɛɡjələ(ɹ), -ɛɡələ(ɹ)

Adjective

regular (comparative more regular, superlative most regular)

  1. (Christianity) Bound by religious rule; belonging to a monastic or religious order (often as opposed to secular). [from 14th c.]
    regular clergy, in distinction from the secular clergy
    • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 201:
      A quarter of a million strong in 1680, the clergy was only half as large in 1789. The unpopular regular clergy were the worst affected.
  2. Having a constant pattern; showing evenness of form or appearance. [from 15th c.]
    Synonyms: equable, uniform, unvarying; see also Thesaurus:steady
    Antonyms: chaotic, irregular; see also Thesaurus:unsteady
  3. (geometry, of a polygon) Both equilateral and equiangular; having all sides of the same length, and all (corresponding) angles of the same size [from 16th c.]
  4. (geometry, of a polyhedron) Whose faces are all congruent regular polygons, equally inclined to each other.
  5. Demonstrating a consistent set of rules; showing order, evenness of operation or occurrence. [from 16th c.]
    Synonyms: in order, ruly, tidy; see also Thesaurus:orderly
    Antonyms: chaotic, tumultuous; see also Thesaurus:disorderly
    • 2011 April 12, A[lison] L[ouise] Kennedy, The Guardian:
      April may be the cruellest month, but I am planning to render it civilised and to take my antibiotics in a regular manner.
  6. (astronomy) Of a moon or other satellite: following a relatively close and prograde orbit with little inclination or eccentricity.
  7. (now rare) Well-behaved, orderly; restrained (of a lifestyle etc.). [from 16th c.]
    Synonyms: decent, seemly, well-mannered
    Antonyms: degenerate, irregular
  8. Happening at constant (especially short) intervals. [from 17th c.]
    Synonyms: cyclical, frequent; see also Thesaurus:periodic
    Antonyms: irregular, noncyclic
    He made regular visits to go see his mother.
  9. (grammar, of a verb, plural, etc) Following a set or common pattern; according to the normal rules of a given language. [from 17th c.]
    Synonym: (verbs) weak
    Antonyms: irregular, (verbs) strong
    "Walked" is the past tense of the regular verb "to walk".
  11. (chiefly US) Having the expected characteristics or appearances; normal, ordinary, standard. [from 17th c.]
    Synonyms: basic, common, unremarkable; see also Thesaurus:normal, Thesaurus:common
    Antonyms: irregular, outlandish, weird; see also Thesaurus:strange
    • 1868-69, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 21, in Little Women‎, part 1:
      “I don’t see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. You’re a regular Shakespeare!” exclaimed Beth, who firmly believed that her sisters were gifted with wonderful genius in all things.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
      For a spell we done pretty well. Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand.
  12. (chiefly military) Permanently organised; being part of a set professional body of troops. [from 17th c.]
    Antonym: irregular
  13. Having bowel movements or menstrual periods at constant intervals in the expected way. [from 18th c.]
    Maintaining a high-fibre diet keeps you regular.
    • 2015, Bill Bryson, The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island, page 206:
      Gulls cawed and wheeled overhead, dropping splatty white cluster bombs on rooftops and pavements. Goodness knows what those gulls eat, but it certainly keeps them regular.
  14. (colloquial) Exemplary; excellent example of; utter, downright. [from 18th c.]
    Synonyms: absolute, thorough, unalloyed; see also Thesaurus:total
    a regular genius; a regular John Bull
  15. (botany, zoology) Having all the parts of the same kind alike in size and shape.
    a regular flower; a regular sea urchin
  16. (crystallography) Isometric.
  17. (snowboarding) Riding with the left foot forward.
    Antonym: goofy
  18. (mathematical analysis, not comparable, of a Borel measure) Such that every set in its domain is both outer regular and inner regular.
  20. (commutative algebra, not comparable, of a local ring) Noetherian and such that the minimal number of generators of the maximal ideal is equal to the Krull dimension of the ring.
  21. (algebraic geometry, not comparable, of a scheme) Such that the local ring at every point is regular.
  22. (obsolete, not comparable, of a ring) A von Neumann regular: such that every left module (over the given ring) is flat.
    Synonym: absolutely flat

Antonyms

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

  • register (not etymologically related but has semantic associations)

Adverb

regular (not comparable)

  1. (archaic, dialect, nonstandard) Regularly, on a regular basis.
    • 1861, George Eliot, Silas Marner, London: Penguin Books, published 1967, page 131:
      'And if the knowledge wasn'y well come by, why, you might ha' made up for it by coming to church reg'lar.'
    • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
      Though no minister would visit the Skerburnfoot, or, if he went, departed quicker than he came, the girl Ailie attended regular at the catechising at the mains of Sker.
    • 1946, William Hatfield, Buffalo Jim, Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege, page 47:
      "There's only twenty men staying in the house regular," said Ahearne, showing him around[.]
    • 1961, Colin Thiele, The Sun on the Stubble, Melbourne: Rigby Limited, page 113:
      "Drain her every thousand, regular. Don't do it myself, o' course; just drop her in at the lubritorium."
    • 1988, Mary Steele, Mallyroot's Pub at Misery Ponds, Ringwood: Puffin Books, page 37:
      "All we've got to do is stick 'em in the bedroom and feed 'em regular."

Noun

regular (plural regulars)

  1. A member of the British Army (as opposed to a member of the Territorial Army or Reserve).
  2. A frequent, routine visitor to an establishment.
    Synonyms: frequenter, habitué, patron, usual suspects
    Bartenders usually know their regulars by name.
  3. A member of the armed forces or police force.
    1. (Singapore) Synonym of regular serviceman; a member of the Singapore Armed Forces who has signed on, i.e., chosen to work full-time beyond their required length of service in the military.
      • 2004, Ong Lay Jinn, 00:24:49 from the start, in Perth: The Geylang Massacre:
        Boss, this is the situation. They were regulars in the army. They’ve left the army and are taxi drivers now. He was a commando and he was a state boxer. They don’t earn much and there’s no end.
  4. A frequent customer, client or business partner.
    This gentleman was one of the architect's regulars.
  5. (television) A character who appears in every episode of a TV series; a member of the regular cast.
    • 2013, Ray Morton, A Quick Guide to Television Writing‎, Bloomsbury, →ISBN:
      When it comes to regulars, some shows feature ensemble casts in which all the characters are more or less equal and the focus of the show shifts from one member of the ensemble to another from episode to episode.
  6. (Canada) A coffee with one cream and one sugar.
  7. Anything that is normal or standard.
    • 2011, Jamie MacLennan, ZhaoHui Tang, Bogdan Crivat, Data Mining with Microsoft SQL Server 2008:
      You separate the marbles by color until you have four groups, but then you notice that some of the marbles are regulars, some are shooters, and some are peewees.
  8. A member of a religious order who has taken the three ordinary vows.
  9. A number for each year, giving, added to the concurrents, the number of the day of the week on which the Paschal full moon falls.
  10. A fixed number for each month serving to ascertain the day of the week, or the age of the moon, on the first day of any month.

Antonyms

Translations

References

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Asturian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /reɡuˈlaɾ/ [re.ɡuˈlaɾ]
  • Rhymes: -aɾ
  • Syllabification: re‧gu‧lar

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

Adjective

regular (epicene, plural regulares)

  1. regular
  2. fine, OK, average
  • regularidá

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre. Compare the doublet reglar, borrowed earlier from the same source.

Verb

regular (first-person singular indicative present regulo, past participle reguláu)

  1. to regulate
Conjugation
Conjugation of regular
More information infinitive, gerund ...
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Catalan

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

Pronunciation

Adjective

regular m or f (masculine and feminine plural regulars)

  1. regular (having a constant pattern)
    Antonym: irregular
  2. normal, average
  3. (geometry) regular (both equilateral and equiangular)
    Antonym: irregular
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre.

Pronunciation

Verb

regular (first-person singular present regulo, first-person singular preterite regulí, past participle regulat)

  1. (transitive) to regulate
Conjugation
    Conjugation of regular (first conjugation)
More information infinitive, gerund ...
Derived terms

Further reading

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Galician

Pronunciation

 
  • IPA(key): (standard) /reɡuˈlaɾ/ [re.ɣ̞uˈlaɾ]
  • IPA(key): (gheada) /reħuˈlaɾ/ [re.ħuˈlaɾ]

  • Rhymes: -aɾ
  • Hyphenation: re‧gu‧lar

Etymology 1

Attested since circa 1300. Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

Adjective

regular m or f (plural regulares)

  1. regular
  2. average
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin rēgulō.

Verb

regular (first-person singular present regulo, first-person singular preterite regulei, past participle regulado)

  1. to regulate
  2. to tune (an engine)
Conjugation
    Conjugation of regular
More information Singular, Plural ...
    Reintegrated conjugation of regular (See Appendix:Reintegrationism)
More information Singular, Plural ...

1Less recommended.

References

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Portuguese

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Late Latin rēgulāris.

Pronunciation

 
 
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /ʁɨ.ɡuˈlaɾ/ [ʁɨ.ɣuˈlaɾ]
    • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /ʁɨ.ɡuˈla.ɾi/ [ʁɨ.ɣuˈla.ɾi]

  • Hyphenation: re‧gu‧lar

Adjective

regular m or f (plural regulares, comparable, comparative mais regular, superlative o mais regular or regularíssimo)

  1. regular
  2. average
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin rēgulāre. Compare the doublet regrar, borrowed earlier from the same source.

Pronunciation

 
 
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /ʁɨ.ɡuˈlaɾ/ [ʁɨ.ɣuˈlaɾ]
    • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /ʁɨ.ɡuˈla.ɾi/ [ʁɨ.ɣuˈla.ɾi]

  • Hyphenation: re‧gu‧lar

Verb

regular (first-person singular present regulo, first-person singular preterite regulei, past participle regulado)

  1. to regulate
  2. to tune (an engine)
  3. to set (a watch, clock)
Conjugation
    Conjugation of regular (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)
More information Singular, Plural ...

1Brazilian Portuguese.
2European Portuguese.

Derived terms

Further reading

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Romanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin rēgulāris. By surface analysis, regulă +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /re.ɡuˈlar/
  • Rhymes: -ar
  • Hyphenation: re‧gu‧lar

Adjective

regular m or n (feminine singular regulară, masculine plural regulari, feminine/neuter plural regulare)

  1. regular

Declension

More information singular, plural ...

Further reading

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Spanish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

Adjective

regular m or f (masculine and feminine plural regulares)

  1. regular, steady, even
  2. fair, fairly good, average
  3. common, ordinary, middling, so-so
  4. (grammar) regular
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre.

Verb

regular (first-person singular present regulo, first-person singular preterite regulé, past participle regulado)

  1. to regulate
  2. to control
  3. to adjust
  4. to put in order
Conjugation
    Conjugation of regular (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)
More information infinitive, gerund ...

1Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
2Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of regular

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

More information singular, plural ...

Further reading

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Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish regular.

Pronunciation

Adjective

regulár (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜒᜄᜓᜎᜇ᜔)

  1. regular; usual; ordinary
    Synonyms: karaniwan, pangkaraniwan
  2. habitual; steady; permanent
    Synonyms: pirmihan, palagian
  3. uniform; not changing
  4. customary; usual
    Synonyms: katamtaman, kainaman

Derived terms

  • karegularan
  • pagkaregular

Further reading

  • “regular”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018.
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