regiment

Etymology

From Middle French regement, régiment, and its source, Late Latin regimentum (“direction for government; course of medical treatment”), from Latin regō (“rule”).

noun

1. (military) A unit of armed troops under the command of an officer, and consisting of several smaller units; now specifically, usually composed of two or more battalions.
   As the prime minister insisted that he had "never told a lie" in his life, the Tory leader attacked him for ordering Scottish troops into battle with no warning that their regiments would be disbanded. 28 April 2005, Nicholas Watt, Michael White, The Guardian
2. (now rare, archaic) Rule or governance over a person, place etc.; government, authority.
   What place is there in all the world, not ſubiect to the regiment and power of this citie? 1576, Abraham Fleming, translating Cicero, A Panoplie of Epistles,&bnsp;XXXIII
   And how is it possible to distinguish precisely […] the powers of ecclesiastical regiment which none but the church should wield from the powers of ecclesiastical regiment (on the jus circa sacra) which secular and profane governments may handle without sin? 1832, John Austin, The Province of Jurisprudence Determined,&bnsp;VI
3. (obsolete) The state or office of a ruler; rulership.
4. (obsolete) Influence or control exercised by someone or something (especially a planet).
5. (obsolete) A place under a particular rule; a kingdom or domain.
6. (obsolete, medicine) A regimen.

verb

1. (transitive) To form soldiers into a regiment.
   J. W. Powell The people are organized or regimented into bodies, and special functions are relegated to the several units.
2. (transitive) To systematize, or put in rigid order.
   The result was a tidy, law-abiding country, but one that visitors often described as regimented, sterile and dull. 2015-03-22, Washington Post, Lee Kuan Yew, who led Singapore into prosperity over 30-year rule, dies at 91