REGULAR


Meaning of REGULAR in English

I. ˈregyələ(r), ÷ -g(ə)l- adjective

Etymology: Middle English reguler, from Middle French, from Late Latin regularis canonical, regular, containing a set of rules, from Latin, of or belonging to a bar, from regula straightedge, rule + -aris -ar — more at rule

1. : belonging to a Christian monastic order or community : living under or relating to a monastic rule

the regular clergy

— opposed to secular

2.

a. : formed, built, arranged, or ordered according to some established rule, law, principle, or type : harmonious in form, structure, or arrangement : symmetrical

regular verse

a man with regular features

a disciplined regular landscape

b.

(1) : both equilateral and equiangular

a regular polygon

(2) : having faces that are congruent regular polygons and all the polyhedral angles congruent

a regular polyhedron

c. of a flower : having the members of each whorl symmetrical with respect to form : actinomorphic — compare irregular

d. : having or constituting an isometric system

regular crystals

3.

a. : steady or uniform in course, practice, or occurrence : not subject to unexplained or irrational variation : steadily pursued : orderly , methodical

regular habits

b.

(1) : returning, recurring, or received at stated, fixed, or uniform intervals

a regular income

in the regular course of events

(2) : functioning at proper intervals — used especially of the bowels

4.

a. : constituted, selected, conducted, made, or otherwise handled in conformity with established or prescribed usages, rules, or discipline

a regular meeting

a regular election

b. : normal , standard , correct : as

(1) : undeviating in conformance to a standard set (as by convention, established authority, or a particular group)

(2) : being such without any doubt : thorough , complete , unmitigated

a regular scoundrel

(3) slang : like other good fellows in views and ways

c.

(1) : conforming to the normal or usual manner of inflection

regular English nouns take -s or -es plurals

(2) : weak 8a

d. of a postage stamp : issued without restriction for the payment of all types of postage

the list included stamps of the regular issue as well as airmails, special deliveries, and commemoratives

5.

a. : of, relating to, or constituting the regular army of a state

a regular soldier

b. : constituting or made up of individuals properly recognized as legitimate combatants in war

6. usually capitalized : of, relating to, or belonging to the Regular Baptists

7. : of, relating to, or being a transaction on a stock exchange requiring delivery of the securities involved on the third full business day after purchase

Synonyms:

normal , typical , natural : regular may imply conformity to a prescribed rule, standard, or established pattern

a regular meeting of the society

following the regular procedure of the legislature

their action was made regular and legal — J.R.Green

normal suggests falling within the limits of a norm

if a boy has abnormal mental powers in some direction, combined with poor physique and great nervousness, he may be quite incapable of fitting into a crowd of normal boys — Bertrand Russell

her intensity, which would leave no emotion on a normal plane, irritated the youth into a frenzy — D.H.Lawrence

typical applies to whatever shows to a marked degree characters or characteristics of a type, class, or group, sometimes to the exclusion of distinctive individual characteristics

peculiar to himself, not typical of Greek ideas — G.L.Dickinson

until twenty years ago a typical English country town with wide High Street, narrow Market Street, picturesque Market Square, two ancient hostelries, fine old church, gabled almshouses — Compton Mackenzie

what he had to do was to give plot and accurate delineation of character to the winds, make his personages typical rather than individual — Richard Garnett †1906

natural describes whatever conforms with its nature, kind, or essence

the natural love of a mother for her child

water as the natural environment of a fish

These words are often interchangeable and are often used together

a mode of thinking, a distinctive type of reaction, gets itself established, in the course of a complex historical development, as typical, as normal — Edward Sapir

II. noun

( -s )

1. : a member of a Christian monastic order or community following a rule : one of the regular clergy

controversy between the seculars and the regulars

2. : a soldier in a regular army — usually used in plural

3.

a. : one (as a customer or contributor) that is regular especially in pursuing a fixed or recurrent routine

b. : one that can be trusted or depended upon with assurance

c. : a player on an athletic team who usually starts every game

4. : a clothing size designed to fit the person of average height

III. adverb

chiefly dialect : regularly

IV. adjective

Etymology: New Latin Regularia & New Latin Regulares

: of or relating to the Regularia or Regulares

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.