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

### Pronunciation

* (UK) enPR: regʹyo͝olər IPA: /ˈɹɛɡ.jʊ.lə/
* (US) enPR: regʹyələr, regʹlər, IPA: /ˈɹɛɡ.jə.lɚ/, /ˈɹɛɡ.l̩ɚ/, [ˈɹɛɡ.jɪ̈.lɚ], [ˈɹɛɡ.l̩ɚ]
* Audio (US):(file)
* (US) Hyphenation: reg‧u‧lar
* Rhymes: -ɛɡjʊlə(ɹ), -ɛɡjələ(ɹ), -ɛɡələ(ɹ)

### Adjective

regular (comparative more regular, superlative most regular)
* (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.
* 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
* (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.]
* (geometry, of a polyhedron) Whose faces are all congruent regular polygons, equally inclined to each other.
* 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.
* (astronomy) Of a moon or other satellite: following a relatively close and prograde orbit with little inclination or eccentricity.
* (now rare) Well-behaved, orderly; restrained (of a lifestyle etc.). [from 16th c.]
    Synonyms: decent, seemly, well-mannered
    Antonyms: degenerate, irregular
* 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.
* (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".
* (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.
* (chiefly military) Permanently organised; being part of a set professional body of troops. [from 17th c.]
    Antonym: irregular
* 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.
* (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
** 1997 February 16, Ron Hauge, Homer's Phobia (The Simpsons), season 8, episode 15, spoken by Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta):Don't worry, boy. We're gonna set you straight. By tomorrow morning, you'll be a regular Burt Reynolds.
* (botany, zoology) Having all the parts of the same kind alike in size and shape.
    a regular flower; a regular sea urchin
* (crystallography) Isometric.
* (snowboarding) Riding with the left foot forward.
    Antonym: goofy
* (mathematical analysis, not comparable, of a Borel measure) Such that every set in its domain is both outer regular and inner regular.
* (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.
* (algebraic geometry, not comparable, of a scheme) Such that the local ring at every point is regular.
* (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

* irregular
* non-regular, nonregular

#### Coordinate terms

* (snowboarding): switch

#### Derived terms

* antiregular
* biregular
* equiregular
* extraregular
* hyperregular
* on a regular basis
* on the regular
* overregular
* preregular
* proregular
* regioregular
* regular black hole
* regular closed
* regular coffee
* regular continued fraction
* regular dividend
* regular-duty
* regular element
* regular expression
* regular folk
* regular folks
* regular function
* regular graph
* regular grid
* regular guy
* regular hexahedron
* regular insulin
* regularisation
* regularise
* regularization
* regularize
* regular Joe
* regular language
* regular map
* regularness
* regular open
* regular order
* regular polygon
* regular prime
* regular script
* regular space
* regular star macromolecule
* regular tessellation
* regular verb
* semi-regular
* stereoregular
* subregular
* superregular
* unregular

#### Related terms

* nap the regulars
* quasiregular
* rail
* regal
* régime
* regimen
* regularity
* regularly
* regulate
* regulation
* rule
* semiregular

#### See also

* register (not etymologically related but has semantic associations)

### Adverb

regular (not comparable)
* (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 Hatfiled, 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)
* A member of the British Army (as opposed to a member of the Territorial Army or Reserve).
* A frequent, routine visitor to an establishment.
    Bartenders usually know their regulars by name.
* A member of an armed forces or police force.
* A frequent customer, client or business partner.
    This gentleman was one of the architect's regulars.
* (Canada) A coffee with one cream and one sugar.
* 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.
* A member of a religious order who has taken the three ordinary vows.
* One who does not regularly attend a venue.
** 2015, Brian Cook, Hands Across The Sea, page 190:There's one neighborhood tavern where the regulars and irregulars go after a hard day to unlax and rewind, throw back a few, and just hang out - you know the one.
* 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.
* 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.

#### Synonyms

* (routine visitor): frequenter, habitué, patron, usual suspects

#### Antonyms

* non-regular, nonregular

#### Translations
### References

* “regular”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “regular”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

## Asturian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /reɡuˈlaɾ/ [re.ɣ̞uˈlaɾ]
* Rhymes: -aɾ
* Syllabification: re‧gu‧lar

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

#### Adjective

regular (epicene, plural regulares)
* regular
* fine, OK, average

##### Related terms

* 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)
* to regulate

##### Conjugation
## Catalan
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [rə.ɣuˈlar]
* IPA: (Balearic) [rə.ɣuˈla]
* IPA: (Valencia) [re.ɣuˈlaɾ]
* Rhymes: -aɾ

#### Adjective

regular m or f (masculine and feminine plural regulars)
* regular (having a constant pattern)
    Antonym: irregular
* normal, average
* (geometry) regular (both equilateral and equiangular)
    Antonym: irregular

##### Derived terms

* regularitat
* regularitzar
* regularment

##### Related terms

* irregular
* regla

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [rə.ɣuˈla]
* IPA: (Valencia) [re.ɣuˈlaɾ]
* Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

#### Verb

regular (first-person singular present regulo, first-person singular preterite regulí, past participle regulat)
* (transitive) to regulate

##### Derived terms

* regulador

##### Related terms

* regulació

### Further reading

* “regular” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “regular”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “regular” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “regular” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Galician
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /reɡuˈlaɾ/ [re.ɣ̞uˈlaɾ]
* IPA: (standard) /reɡuˈlaɾ/ [re.ɣ̞uˈlaɾ]
* IPA: (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)
* regular
* average

##### Derived terms

* irregular
* regularmente

### Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin rēgulō.

#### Verb

regular (first-person singular present regulo, first-person singular preterite regulei, past participle regulado)
* to regulate
* to tune (an engine)

##### Conjugation

$^1$Less recommended.

### References

* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “regular”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “regular”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “regular”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “regular”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “regular”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

## Portuguese
### Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Late Latin rēgulāris.

#### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈlaʁ/ [he.ɡuˈlah]
* (Brazil) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈlaʁ/ [he.ɡuˈlah]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈlaɾ/ [he.ɡuˈlaɾ]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈlaʁ/ [χe.ɡuˈlaχ]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈlaɻ/ [he.ɡuˈlaɻ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /ʁɨ.ɡuˈlaɾ/ [ʁɨ.ɣuˈlaɾ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /ʁɨ.ɡuˈlaɾ/ [ʁɨ.ɣuˈlaɾ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /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)
* regular
* average

##### Derived terms

* irregular
* regularmente

### Etymology 2

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

#### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈla(ʁ)/ [he.ɡuˈla(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈla(ʁ)/ [he.ɡuˈla(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈla(ɾ)/ [he.ɡuˈla(ɾ)]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈla(ʁ)/ [χe.ɡuˈla(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ʁe.ɡuˈla(ɻ)/ [he.ɡuˈla(ɻ)]
* (Portugal) IPA: /ʁɨ.ɡuˈlaɾ/ [ʁɨ.ɣuˈlaɾ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /ʁɨ.ɡuˈlaɾ/ [ʁɨ.ɣuˈlaɾ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /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)
* to regulate
* to tune (an engine)
* to set (a watch, clock)

##### Conjugation

$^1$Brazilian Portuguese. $^2$European Portuguese.

##### Derived terms

* regulável

##### Related terms

* regra
* régua
* regulação
* regulador
* regulagem
* regulamento
* regularidade
* regularização
* regularizar

## Romanian
### Alternative forms

* регулар (regular) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /re.ɡuˈlar/
* Rhymes: -ar
* Hyphenation: re‧gu‧lar

### Adjective

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

#### Declension
### Further reading

* regular in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /reɡuˈlaɾ/ [re.ɣ̞uˈlaɾ]
* Audio (Venezuela):(file)
* Rhymes: -aɾ
* Syllabification: re‧gu‧lar

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin rēgulāris.

#### Adjective

regular m or f (masculine and feminine plural regulares)
* regular, steady, even
* fair, fairly good, average
* common, ordinary, middling, so-so
* (grammar) regular

##### Derived terms

* por lo regular
* regularidad
* regularmente
* verbo regular

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin rēgulāre.

#### Verb

regular (first-person singular present regulo, first-person singular preterite regulé, past participle regulado)
* to regulate
* to control
* to adjust
* to put in order

##### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

##### Related terms

* regla
* regulable
* regulación
* regulador
* regularidad
* regularización
* regularizar
* regulativo

### Further reading

* “regular”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Tagalog
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish regular.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /ɾeɡuˈlaɾ/ [ɾɛ.ɣʊˈlaɾ]
* Rhymes: -aɾ
* Syllabification: re‧gu‧lar

### Adjective

regulár (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜒᜄᜓᜎᜇ᜔)
* regular; usual; ordinary
    Synonyms: karaniwan, pangkaraniwan
* habitual; steady; permanent
    Synonyms: pirmihan, palagian
* uniform; not changing
* customary; usual
    Synonyms: katamtaman, kainaman

#### Derived terms

* karegularan
* pagkaregular

#### Related terms

* regulador
* regularidad
* regulasyon

### Further reading

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