regular

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”).

adj

1. (Christianity) Bound by religious rule; belonging to a monastic or religious order (often as opposed to secular).
   regular clergy, in distinction from the secular clergy
   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. 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 201
2. Having a constant pattern; showing evenness of form or appearance.
3. (geometry, of a polygon) Both equilateral and equiangular; having all sides of the same length, and all (corresponding) angles of the same size
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.
   April may be the cruellest month, but I am planning to render it civilised and to take my antibiotics in a regular manner. 2011-04-12, A[lison] L[ouise] Kennedy, The Guardian
6. (astronomy) Of a moon or other satellite: following a relatively close and prograde orbit with little inclination or eccentricity.
7. (now rare) Well-behaved, orderly; restrained (of a lifestyle etc.).
8. Happening at constant (especially short) intervals.
   He made regular visits to go see his mother.
9. (grammar, of a verb, plural, etc) Following a set or common pattern; according to the normal rules of a given language.
   "Walked" is the past tense of the regular verb "to walk".
10. (chiefly US) Having the expected characteristics or appearances; normal, ordinary, standard.
    “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. 1868-69, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 21, in Little Women, part 1
    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. 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
11. (chiefly military) Permanently organised; being part of a set professional body of troops.
12. Having bowel movements or menstrual periods at constant intervals in the expected way.
    Maintaining a high-fibre diet keeps you regular.
    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. 2015, Bill Bryson, The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island, page 206
13. (colloquial) Exemplary; excellent example of; utter, downright.
    a regular genius; a regular John Bull
    Don't worry, boy. We're gonna set you straight. By tomorrow morning, you'll be a regular Burt Reynolds. 1997-02-16, Ron Hauge, Homer's Phobia (The Simpsons), season 8, episode 15, spoken by Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta)
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. (mathematical analysis, not comparable, of a Borel measure) Such that every set in its domain is both outer regular and inner regular.

adv

1. (archaic, dialect, nonstandard) Regularly, on a regular basis.
   'And if the knowledge wasn'y well come by, why, you might ha' made up for it by coming to church reg'lar.' 1861, George Eliot, Silas Marner, London: Penguin Books, published 1967, page 131
   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. 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
   "Drain her every thousand, regular. Don't do it myself, o' course; just drop her in at the lubritorium." 1961, Colin Thiele, The Sun on the Stubble, Melbourne: Rigby Limited, page 113
   "All we've got to do is stick 'em in the bedroom and feed 'em regular." 1988, Mary Steele, Mallyroot's Pub at Misery Ponds, Ringwood: Puffin Books, page 37

noun

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 member of an armed forces or police force.
4. A frequent customer, client or business partner.
   This gentleman was one of the architect's regulars.
5. (Canada) A coffee with one cream and one sugar.
6. Anything that is normal or standard.
   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. 2011, Jamie MacLennan, ZhaoHui Tang, Bogdan Crivat, Data Mining with Microsoft SQL Server 2008
7. A member of a religious order who has taken the three ordinary vows.
8. 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.
9. 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.