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