How do you pronounce regal?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɹiːɡəl/.

Where does regal come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

regal

/ˈɹiːɡəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.34 in modern English

Syllables: re-gal
IPA: /ˈɹiːɡəl/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, pertaining to, or suitable for royalty.

adj

Befitting a monarch.

adj

Befitting a monarch.

noun

A small, portable organ whose sound is produced by brass beating reeds without amplifying resonators. Its tone is keen and rich in harmonics. The regal was common in the 16th and 17th centuries, and has been revived for the performance of music from those times.

noun

An organ stop of the reed family, furnished with a normal beating reed, but whose resonator is a fraction of its natural length. In the 16th and 17th centuries these stops took a multitude of forms. Today only one survives that is of universal currency, the so-called vox humana.

Example Sentences

"regal authority"
"the regal title"
"He made a scorn of his regal oath."
"The [Washington] Posts proprietor through those turbulent [Watergate] days, Katharine Graham, held a double place in Washington’s hierarchy: at once regal' Georgetown hostess and scrappy newshound, ready to hold the establishment to account."
"Terrific movement from The Queen here. Gets behind the defender, goes one way then cuts back inside. Regal attacking play."
"Kwarteng said he had urged Truss to “slow down” over reforms, but a cabinet minister told the FT that she felt “invincible, almost regal”."

Etymology

From Middle English regal, from Old French regal (“regal, royal”), from Latin rēgālis (“royal, kingly”), from rex (“king”); also regere (“to rule”). Doublet of royal (“belonging to a monarch”), real (“unit of currency”), ariary, and riyal. Cognate with Spanish real, Italian reale, Catalan reial.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *h₃reǵ-, regal, rēgālis, régale, regol

Inflected Forms

more regal (comparative) most regal (superlative) regall (alternative, obsolete) regals (plural) rigole (alternative)

Derived Forms

interregal regalism regalist regality regally regalness superregal unregal viceregal

Phrases

regal fritillary regal geranium regal horned lizard regal lily regal moth regal purple regal sea goddess

Frequently Paired Words

regime regimen regular kingly royal splendid stately reginal

Synonyms

imperial majestic purple royal

Homonyms

riegel

Rhymes With

legal illegal eagle siegel beagle spiegel segal paralegal steagall segel riegel extralegal