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Webster 1913 Edition

Regular

Reg′u-lar

(-l?r)
,
Adj.
[L.
regularis
, fr.
regula
a rule, fr.
regere
to guide, to rule: cf. F.
régulier
. See
Rule
.]
1.
Conformed to a rule; agreeable to an established rule, law, principle, or type, or to established customary forms; normal; symmetrical;
as, a
regular
verse in poetry; a
regular
piece of music; a
regular
verb;
regular
practice of law or medicine; a
regular
building.
2.
Governed by rule or rules; steady or uniform in course, practice, or occurence; not subject to unexplained or irrational variation; returning at stated intervals; steadily pursued; orderlly; methodical;
as, the
regular
succession of day and night;
regular
habits.
3.
Constituted, selected, or conducted in conformity with established usages, rules, or discipline; duly authorized; permanently organized;
as, a
regular
meeting; a
regular
physican; a
regular
nomination;
regular
troops.
4.
Belonging to a monastic order or community;
as,
regular
clergy, in distinction dfrom the
secular
clergy
.
5.
Thorough; complete; unmitigated;
as, a
regular
humbug
.
[Colloq.]
6.
(Bot. & Zool.)
Having all the parts of the same kind alike in size and shape;
as, a
regular
flower; a
regular
sea urchin.
7.
(Crystallog.)
Same as
Isometric
.
Regular polygon
(Geom.)
,
a plane polygon which is both equilateral and equiangular.
–
Regular polyhedron
(Geom.)
,
a polyhedron whose faces are equal regular polygons. There are five regular polyhedrons, – the tetrahedron, the hexahedron, or cube, the octahedron, the dodecahedron, and the icosahedron.
–
Regular sales
(Stock Exchange)
,
sales of stock deliverable on the day after the transaction.
–
Regular troops
,
troops of a standing or permanent army; – opposed to militia.
Syn. – Normal; orderly; methodical. See
Normal
.

Reg′u-lar

(rĕg′ū̍-lẽr)
,
Noun.
[LL.
regularis
: cf. F.
régulier
. See
Regular
,
Adj.
]
1.
(R. C. Ch.)
A member of any religious order or community who has taken the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and who has been solemnly recognized by the church.
Bp. Fitzpatrick.
2.
(Mil.)
A soldier belonging to a permanent or standing army; – chiefly used in the plural.

Webster 1828 Edition

Regular

REG'ULAR

,
Adj.
[L. regularis, from regula, a rule, from rego, to rule.]
1.
Conformed to a rule; agreeable to an established rule, law or principle, to a prescribed mode or to established customary forms; as a regular epic poem; a regular verse in poetry; a regular piece of music; regular practice of law or medicine; a regular plan; a regular building.
2.
Governed by rule or rules; steady or uniform in a course or practice; as regular in diet; regular in attending on divine worship.
3.
In geometry, a regular figure is one whose sides and angles are equal, as a square, a cube, or an equilateral triangle. Regular figures of more than three or four sides are usually called regular polygons.
4.
Instituted or initiated according to established forms or discipline; as a regular physician.
5.
Methodical; orderly; as a regular kind of sensuality or indulgence.
6.
Periodical; as the regular return of day and night; a regular trade wind or monsoon.
7.
Pursued with uniformity or steadiness; as a regular trade.
8.
Belonging to a monastic order; as regular clergy, in distinction from the secular clergy.
Regular troops, troops of a permanent army; opposed to militia.

REG'ULAR

, n.
1.
In a monastery, one who has taken the vows, and who is bound to follow the rules of the order.
2.
A soldier belonging to a permanent army.

Definition 2024

regular

regular

See also: regulär

English

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.]
    • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 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.]
  3. (geometry, of a polygon) 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.]
    • 2011, AL Kennedy, The Guardian, 12 Apr 2011:
      April may be the cruellest month, but I am planning to render it civilised and to take my antibiotics in a regular manner.
  6. (now rare) Well-behaved, orderly; restrained (of a lifestyle etc.). [from 16th c.]
  7. Happening at constant (especially short) intervals. [from 17th c.]
    He made regular visits to go see his mother.‎
  8. (grammar, of a verb, plural, etc) Following a set or common pattern; according to the normal rules of a given language. [from 17th c.]
    The verb "to walk" is regular.‎
  9. (chiefly US) Having the expected characteristics or appearances; normal, ordinary, standard. [from 17th c.]
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      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.
  10. (chiefly military) Permanently organised; being part of a set professional body of troops. [from 17th c.]
  11. Having bowel movements or menstrual periods at constant intervals in the expected way. [from 18th c.]
    Maintaining a high-fibre diet keeps you regular.‎
  12. (colloquial) Exemplary; excellent example of; utter, downright. [from 18th c.]
    a regular genius; a regular John Bull‎
  13. Belonging to a monastic order or community.
    regular clergy, in distinction from the secular clergy
  14. (botany, zoology) Having all the parts of the same kind alike in size and shape.
    a regular flower; a regular sea urchin
  15. (crystallography) isometric
  16. (snowboarding) Riding with the left foot forward.
  17. (analysis, not comparable, of a Borel measure) Such that every set in its domain is both outer regular and inner regular.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related terms

Coordinate terms

Translations

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.
    Bartenders usually know their regulars by name.
  3. A frequent customer, client or business partner.
    This gentleman was one of the architect's regulars.
  4. (Canada) A coffee with one cream and one sugar.
  5. 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.

Translations

References

    • regular in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
    • regular in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

    Asturian

    Etymology 1

    Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

    Adjective

    regular (epicene, plural regulares)

    1. regular
    2. fine, OK, average

    Related terms

    • regularidá

    Etymology 2

    Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre, present active infinitive of rēgulō. 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

    Catalan

    Adjective

    regular m, f ‎(masculine and feminine plural regulars)

    1. regular

    Verb

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

    1. to regulate

    Conjugation

    Portuguese

    Etymology 1

    Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

    Pronunciation

    Adjective

    regular m, f ‎(plural regulares, comparable)

    1. regular
    2. average

    Etymology 2

    Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre, present active infinitive of rēgulō. Compare the doublet regrar, borrowed earlier from the same source.

    Verb

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

    1. to regulate
    2. to tune (an engine)
    3. to set (a watch, clock)

    Conjugation

    Related terms

    Spanish

    Etymology 1

    Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

    Adjective

    regular m, f ‎(plural regulares)

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

    Etymology 2

    Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre, present active infinitive of rēgulō.

    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)edit data
    infinitive regular
    gerund regulando
    past participle masculine feminine
    singular regulado regulada
    plural regulados reguladas
    singular plural
    1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
    indicative yo tú
    vos    		 él/ella
    usted    		 nosotros
    nosotras    		 vosotros
    vosotras    		 ellos/ellas
    ustedes
    present regulo regulastú
    regulásvos     		regula regulamos reguláis regulan
    imperfect regulaba regulabas regulaba regulábamos regulabais regulaban
    preterite regulé regulaste reguló regulamos regulasteis regularon
    future regularé regularás regulará regularemos regularéis regularán
    conditional regularía regularías regularía regularíamos regularíais regularían
    subjunctive yo tú
    vos    		 él/ella
    usted    		 nosotros
    nosotras    		 vosotros
    vosotras    		 ellos/ellas
    ustedes
    present regule regulestú
    regulésvos1     		regule regulemos reguléis regulen
    imperfect
    (ra)    		 regulara regularas regulara reguláramos regularais regularan
    imperfect
    (se)    		 regulase regulases regulase regulásemos regulaseis regulasen
    future regulare regulares regulare reguláremos regulareis regularen
    imperative — tú
    vos    		 usted nosotros
    nosotras    		 vosotros
    vosotras    		 ustedes
    affirmative regulatú
    regulávos     		regule regulemos regulad regulen
    negative no regules no regule no regulemos no reguléis no regulen
    1Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
        Selected combined forms of regularedit data

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

    singular plural
    1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
    with infinitive regular
    dative regularme regularte, regularle regularle, regularse regularnos regularos, regularles regularles, regularse
    accusative regularme regularte, regularlo, regularla regularlo, regularla, regularse regularnos regularos, regularlos, regularlas regularlos, regularlas, regularse
    with gerund regulando
    dative regulándome regulándote, regulándole regulándole, regulándose regulándonos regulándoos, regulándoles regulándoles, regulándose
    accusative regulándome regulándote, regulándolo, regulándola regulándolo, regulándola, regulándose regulándonos regulándoos, regulándolos, regulándolas regulándolos, regulándolas, regulándose
    with informal second-person singular imperative regula
    dative regulame regulate, regulale regulale regulanos regulaos, regulales regulales
    accusative regulame regulate, regulalo, regulala regulalo, regulala regulanos regulaos, regulalos, regulalas regulalos, regulalas
    with formal second-person singular imperative regule
    dative regúleme regúlete, regúlele regúlele, regúlese regúlenos regúleles regúleles, regúlese
    accusative regúleme regúlete, regúlelo, regúlela regúlelo, regúlela, regúlese regúlenos regúlelos, regúlelas regúlelos, regúlelas, regúlese
    with first-person plural imperative regulemos
    dative not used regulémosle regulémosle regulémonos regulémosles regulémosles
    accusative not used regulémoslo, regulémosla regulémoslo, regulémosla regulémonos regulémoslos, regulémoslas regulémoslos, regulémoslas
    with informal second-person plural imperative regulad
    dative reguladme reguladle reguladle reguladnos regulaos, reguladles reguladles
    accusative reguladme reguladlo, reguladla reguladlo, reguladla reguladnos regulaos, reguladlos, reguladlas reguladlos, reguladlas
    with formal second-person plural imperative regulen
    dative regúlenme regúlente, regúlenle regúlenle, regúlense regúlenos regúlenles regúlenles, regúlense
    accusative regúlenme regúlente, regúlenlo, regúlenla regúlenlo, regúlenla, regúlense regúlenos regúlenlos, regúlenlas regúlenlos, regúlenlas, regúlense

    Related terms

    Etymology

    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 *reg- ‎(“move in a straight line”).

    Pronunciation

    • (UK) enPR: reʹgyo͝olər IPA(key): /ˈɹɛɡjʊlə/
    • (US) enPR: reʹgyələr, reʹgyələr, IPA(key): /ˈɹɛɡjəlɚ/, /ˈɹɛɡl̩ɚ/, [ˈɹɛɡjɪ̈lɚ], [ˈɹɛɡl̩ɚ]
    • Rhymes: -ɛɡjʊlə(ɹ), -ɛɡjələ(ɹ), -ɛɡələ(ɹ)
    • (US) Hyphenation: reg‧u‧lar

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