Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Regular?

\Reg"u*lar\ (-l?r), a. [L. regularis, fr. regula a rule, fr. regere to guide, to rule: cf. F. r['e]gulier. See {Rule}.] 1. Conformed to a rule; agreeable to an established rule, law, principle, or type, or to established customary forms; normal; symmetrical; as, a regular verse in poetry; a regular piece of music; a regular verb; regular practice of law or medicine; a regular building. 2. Governed by rule or rules; steady or uniform in course, practice, or occurence; not subject to unexplained or irrational variation; returning at stated intervals; steadily pursued; orderlly; methodical; as, the regular succession of day and night; regular habits. 3. Constituted, selected, or conducted in conformity with established usages, rules, or discipline; duly authorized; permanently organized; as, a regular meeting; a regular physican; a regular nomination; regular troops. 4. Belonging to a monastic order or community; as, regular clergy, in distinction dfrom the secular clergy. 5. Thorough; complete; unmitigated; as, a regular humbug. [Colloq.] 6. (Bot. & Zo["o]l.) Having all the parts of the same kind alike in size and shape; as, a regular flower; a regular sea urchin. 7. (Crystallog.) Same as {Isometric}. {Regular polygon} (Geom.), a plane polygon which is both equilateral and equiangular. {Regular polyhedron} (Geom.), a polyhedron whose faces are equal regular polygons. There are five regular polyhedrons, -- the tetrahedron, the hexahedron, or cube, the octahedron, the dodecahedron, and the icosahedron. {Regular sales} (Stock Exchange), sales of stock deliverable on the day after the transaction. {Regular troops}, troops of a standing or permanent army; -- opposed to militia. Syn: Normal; orderly; methodical. See {Normal}.
\Reg"u*lar\ (r[e^]g"[-u]*l[~e]r), n. [LL. regularis: cf. F. r['e]gulier. See {Regular}, a.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) A member of any religious order or community who has taken the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and who has been solemnly recognized by the church. --Bp. Fitzpatrick. 2. (Mil.) A soldier belonging to a permanent or standing army; -- chiefly used in the plural.