Word of the Day

: September 1, 2021

regnant

adjective REG-nunt

What It Means

Regnant means "reigning" or "dominant."

// The regnant kings commanded their armies in the battle.

// Christianity became the regnant religion during the Emperor's reign.

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regnant in Context

"The bare-chested Washington is draped in a Roman toga and clad in Roman sandals. Seated on an ornately carved chair (again, crafted according to the regnant style of Greco-Roman antiquity), he points the index finger of his right hand upward toward Heaven and in his left holds out a sheathed sword…." — Cameron Hilditch, The National Review, 4 June 2021

Did You Know?

The origin of regnant is straightforward: it comes from the Latin verb regnare, meaning "to reign." Regnare, in turn, traces back to the noun regnum, meaning "reign." (Regnum was bestowed with the meaning "kingdom" in English.) These words ultimately descend from rex, the Latin for "king" and a word familiar to those who have read or seen the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex.