| 释义 |
regular, a., adv., and n.|ˈrɛgjʊlə(r)|
Forms: 4–7 reguler, (4 -ere), 6 Sc. -ier; 6–7 regulare, 5– regular.
[Orig. a. OF. reguler (mod.F. régulier), ad. L. rēgulāris, f. rēgula rule; in later use re-adopted from, or conformed to, the L. original.]
A. adj.
1. Eccl.
a. Subject to, or bound by, a religious rule; belonging to a religious or monastic order. (Opposed to secular.) In early use placed after the n., esp. in canon regular: see canon n.2 1.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 373 Patrik rered þere a chirche, and dede þere chanouns reguler. 14..Why I can't be a Nun 172 in E.E.P. (1862) 142 Thys day schalt thow see An howse of wommen reguler. 1528Roy Rede me (Arb.) 51 Of seculer folke he can make reguler, And agayne of reguler seculer. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 16 Translatit it fra secular preistis syne To channonis regularis of Sanct Augustyne. 1590Swinburne Testaments 64 Of Ecclesiasticall persons there be two sortes, the one Regular, the other Secular. 1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 128 These Priests were called Secular, and such as led a Monasticall life Regular. And so Canons were both secular and regular. 1766Blackstone Comm. II. 27 The intrigues of the regular clergy, or monks of the Benedictine and other rules, under arch-bishop Dunstan and his successors. 1836Penny Cycl. VI. 373/2 Besides this auxiliary force, the regular clergy, or monastic orders, take upon them many of these functions. 1884Catholic Dict. (1897) 212/1 The idea of a Regular Clerk is that of a combination of functions.
absol.1387–8T. Usk Test. Love iii. i. (Skeat) l. 131 Bothe professe and reguler arn obediencer and bounden to this Margarite-perle.
b. Pertaining to, connected with, a monastic rule or those subject to it. rare.
1490Caxton Rule St. Benet 139 He that otherwise dooth shall be correct wyth reguler disciplyne. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 84 b, All outwarde reguler obseruaunces. 1691tr. Emilianne's Frauds Rom. Monks (ed. 3) 141 Their Churches are more adorned, and their other Regular-places more comporting with the modern way of Building.
2. a. Having a form, structure, or arrangement which follows, or is reducible to, some rule or principle; characterized by harmony or proper correspondence between the various parts or elements; symmetrical.
1584R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. xiii. xix. (1886) 258 The regular, the irregular, the coloured and the cleare glasses. c1645Howell Lett. II. lvi. 79 The English speech though it be rich, copious, and significant,..yet, under favour, I cannot call it a regular language. 1667Milton P.L. v. 623 Mazes intricate, Eccentric, intervolv'd, yet regular Then most, when most irregular they seem. 1716Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to C'tess Mar 14 Sept., I cannot, however, tell you that her features are regular. 1811Phil. Trans. R. Soc. CI. 298 The arguments which I have given in the foregoing article, where only nebulæ of an irregular round figure were considered, need not be repeated when a regular circular form is presented to our view. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art II. 292 In proportion as discoveries were multiplied, the want of a regular and appropriate nomenclature increased. 1840tr. Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 640 [Sea-urchins] are either regular or irregular,—the regular ones having the mouth in the middle of the underside, and the vent opposite. 1863Geo. Eliot Romola x, The conjurer..showed his small regular teeth in an impish..grin. 1922Astrophysical Jrnl. LVI. 164 This state of affairs led Sir John Herschel to avoid the discussion of physical distinctions among nebulae and to elaborate his father's formal classification in an ingenious manner. All nebulous objects were divided into regular and irregular, and the latter alone into nebulae and clusters. 1926Ibid. LXIV. 324 The characteristic feature of extra-galactic nebulae is rotational symmetry about dominating non-stellar nuclei. About 97 per cent of these nebulae are regular in the sense that they show this feature conspicuously. 1973L. Oster Mod. Astron. xx. 303 We can do little more than speculate at present as to why some spiral galaxies are barred and others are ‘regular’.
b. Geom. Of curves, figures, and solids: (see quots.).
1665Phil. Trans. I. 105 If curve, whether regular or irregular. 1679Moxon Math. Dict. 130 Regular Figures are those where the Angles and Lines or Superficies are equal. 1704J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Regular Body, is a Solid whose Surface is composed of Regular and Equal Figures. Ibid., Regular Curves, are such Curves as the Perimeters of the Conick Sections, which are always curved after the same Regular Geometrical manner. 1727–38Chambers Cycl. s.v., All other regular figures consisting of more than four sides, are called regular polygons. 1823H. J. Brooke Introd. Crystallogr. 137 Distinguishable from regular octahedrons by the unequal inclinations of the plane. 1846Holtzapffel Turning II. 777 The regular trapezohedron may be sawn from the regular octangular prism.
c. Bot. Having all the parts or organs of the same kind normally alike in form and size.
1785Martyn Rousseau's Bot. iii. (1794) 34 One general division of flowers is into regular and irregular. The first are they whose parts all spring uniformly from the centre of the flower, and terminate in the circumference of a circle. 1807J. E. Smith Phys. Bot. 256 An equal Corolla is not only regular, but all its divisions are of one size. 1876Hooker Bot. Primer 49 A regular flower is one in which..the members of each whorl are equal and similar.
d. Math. In various senses (see quots.).
1893A. R. Forsyth Theory Functions Complex Variable i. 12 A function which is monogenic, uniform and, except at poles, continuous, is called a meromorphic function. [Note] Sometimes regular, but this term will be reserved for the description of another property of functions. Ibid. iii. 52 A point a in the plane may be such that a function of the variable has a determinate finite value there, always independent of the path by which the variable reaches a; the point a is called an ordinary point. [Note. Sometimes a regular point.] of the function. Ibid. viii. 163 The singularities..in the vicinity of which each branch of the function is uniform. [Note] These singularities will, for the sake of brevity, be called regular. 1908H. Hilton Introd. Theory Groups Finite Order ii. 8 A permutation with the same number of symbols in each cycle—such as (1 4 3) (2 5 7) (9 6 8)—is called regular. 1968P. A. P. Moran Introd. Probability Theory iii. 117 It is convenient to use the words ‘regular’ and ‘positively regular’ for the cases where the vector Ptp(o) converges to a vector independent of p(o), and where in addition this vector has all its elements positive. 1972A. G. Howson Handbk. Terms Algebra & Anal. xxxi. 154 Some authors weaken the definition of an analytic function on a domain S by asking only that the function should be analytic (in the above sense) at all but a finite number of points of S. A function which is analytic in the stronger sense would be described by them as being regular on S. Ibid. xxxvi. 181 Those points..possess a tangent plane..and are called regular points. Points which are not regular are said to be singular. 1978Sci. Amer. Oct. 96/2 A prime is regular if and only if it does not evenly divide the numerator of any of the first p-3 numbers in the series of fractions called the Bernoulli numbers... Of the primes smaller than 100 all but 37, 59 and 67 are regular.
3. a. Characterized by the presence or operation of a definite principle; marked or distinguished by steadiness or uniformity of action, procedure, or occurrence.
1594Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. ii. §1 No certain end could ever be attained, unless the actions whereby it is attained were regular; that is to say, made suitable..unto their end, by some canon, rule or law. 1607Shakes. Timon v. iv. 61 Not a man Shall passe his quarter, or offend the streame Of Regular Iustice in your Citties bounds. 1690Stillingfl. Serm. (1698) III. v. 184 True Courage must be a Regular thing; it must have not only a good End, but a wise Choice of Means. 1722Quincy Phys. Dict. (ed. 2) 380/2 Regular, Constant and Uniform, in opposition to Irregular..; both frequently applied to Diseases. 1761–2Hume Hist. Eng. lxiv. (1806) IV. 720 The English parliament had now raised itself to be a regular check and control upon royal power. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) II. 220/1 When it [the light] comes from above, in such a regular, proportioned, and uninterrupted manner. 1867W. W. Smyth Coal & Coal-mining 249 A bar to the regular working of colliery proprietors. 1871Jowett Plato III. 133 He supposes the philosopher to proceed by regular steps, until he arrives at the idea of good.
b. Recurring or repeated at fixed times.
1756Boston News-Letter 26 Feb. 1/2 A regular monthly Correspondence between Great Britain and His Majesty's several Colonies. 1781Cowper Retirem. 430 How regular his meals, how sound he sleeps! 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) IV. 750/1 The lunisolar year..was in use long before any regular intercalations were made. 1844Dickens Chimes i, ‘There's nothing’, said Toby, ‘more regular in its coming round than dinner-time, and nothing less regular in its coming round than dinner’.
c. Taking place or recurring at short uniform intervals.
1781Cowper Table T. 530 Exact and regular the sounds will be. 1815Shelley Dæmon 34 Nor..Doth Henry hear her regular pulses throb. 1824Byron Juan xvi. cxiii, With awful footsteps regular as rhyme. 1876T. Hardy Ethelberta (1890) 11 Quick regular brushings against the heather.
d. Habitually or customarily used, received, observed, etc.; habitual, constant; spec. of a long-standing client or customer.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) IV. 746/1 Even in the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, we find no regular dates for the events recorded. 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. vii, ‘We'll put you into your regular bedroom to-morrow, Nickleby’, said Squeers. Ibid. xv, It's past my regular time for going to bed. 1841Dickens Barn. Rudge xi. 296 The regular Maypole customers..each..in..his allotted seat in the chimney corner. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 309 The regular salary, however, was the smallest part of the gains of an official man of that age. 1878Huxley Physiogr. xxi. 370 The revolving globe is maintained in its regular orbit. 1885Act 48 & 49 Vict. c. 56 Preamble, To permit electors in his regular employ to absent themselves. 1911G. S. Porter Harvester vii. 108, I have orders to fill for regular customers. 1966H. Mills In Pursuit of Evil vi. 59 ‘Is that a regular customer of yours?’ I said to the..woman who owned the shop. 1973‘H. Howard’ Highway to Murder x. 125 Most of the ladies who patronize my salon are regular clients.
e. orig. U.S. Designating size or quality: average, medium; standard. (In quot. 1952 as n.)
1952Amer. Speech XXVII. 266 With regard to sizes of suits there are three basic divisions: regulars—for men of average height and weight; shorts..and longs. 1977Guardian 11 June 14/7 If a Big Mac is too big for you then you might settle for a regular hamburger. 1978N.Y. Times Mag. 23 July 22/2 In gasoline ‘regular’ has changed from meaning ‘without tetraethyl lead’ to its opposite—‘with lead’.
4. a. Pursuing a definite course, or observing some uniform principle, of action or conduct; adhering to rule; in mod. use esp. observing fixed times for, or never failing in, the performance of certain actions or duties.
1602Daniel Ep. Sir T. Egerton xxiv, Eu'n the Scepter which might all command, Seeing her s' vnpartiall, equall, regular, Was pleas'd to put it selfe into her hand. 1669J. Leeke (title) The Regular Architect, or the General Rule of the five Orders of Architecture. 1693Dryden Ep. Congreve 58 So bold, yet so judiciously you dare, That your least praise is to be regular. 1732Pope Ep. Cobham 209 Nature well known, no prodigies remain, Comets are regular, and Wharton plain. 1883F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius i, The Herr Doctor was a regular man, and always appeared at his window at the same hour.
b. Orderly, well-ordered, well-behaved, steady.
1705Addison Italy (1733) 54 The University of Padua is of late much more regular than it was formerly, tho' it is not yet safe walking the Streets after Sun-set. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. vi. 200 Their..behaviour..was much more regular than could well have been expected from sailors..so long confined to a ship. 1779–81Johnson L.P., Smith Wks. II. 473 He grew first regular, and then pious. 1800E. Hervey Mourtray Fam. II. 124 Lead a more regular life than you have done since you entered the army. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 22/2 All they intend to send are regular people, neither factious nor vicious in religion.
c. Acting at the proper intervals.
1783J. Heysham in Med. Commun. I. 435 Her belly is regular. 1807Med. Jrnl. XVII. 191 Her tongue was not furred; and her bowels were regular.
5. a. Conformable to some accepted or adopted rule or standard; made or carried out in a prescribed manner; recognized as formally correct.
1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. vii. §291 That legal regular convention of a sober and modest council. a1680Butler Rem. (1759) I. 232 In all Mistakes the strict and regular Are found to be the desp'ratst Ways to err. 1688Norris Theory Love ii. iii. 117 To make our Self-love Regular and according to order, we must take care not to mistake our true selves. 1731C. Campbell (title) Vitruvius Britannicus,..containing Plans, Elevations and Sections of the Regular Buildings both Public and Private in Great Britain. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Leap, The difference between the regular and irregular leaps is, that the former are performed by the voice, without any great difficulty or effort. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) II. 234/2 There are eight regular mouldings in ornamenting columns. 1802James Milit. Dict. s.v. Attack, Regular Attack, is that which is carried on in form, according to the rules of art. 1831Society I. 273 Young ladies making acquaintances so easily, without regular introductions. 1869Ouseley Counterp. xv. 95 The intervals between the notes remain unchanged by the imitation. When such is the case, the imitation is said to be strict or regular.
b. Gram. Of parts of speech, esp. verbs: Following some usual and uniform mode of inflection or conjugation.
1611Florio Rules Ital. Tongue in Dict. 633 Amongst all the Verbs some are vnder certaine orders, and are called Regular. 1766Del Pino New Sp. Gram. 38 All Regular Verbs, whose Infinitive is terminated in -ar, are conjugated in the same manner. 1824L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 154 Verbs Passive are called regular, when they form their perfect participle by the addition of d or ed, to the verb. 1887Roget Introd. Old French ix. 117 The four conjugations of so-called Regular Verbs.
6. a. Properly constituted; having all the essential attributes, qualities, or parts; normal.
1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 49 Sir, Expect not from me a Regular Answer to your letters. a1687Petty Pol. Arith. iv. (1691) 70 Sufficient to victual Nine Millions of Persons, as they are Victualled in Ships, and regular Families. a1708Beveridge Wks. (1846) VIII. 622 It always was, and still is, practised in all regular parish churches. 1886C. Scott Sheep-Farming 28 Thus a regular ewe stock consists of four different ages. 1887C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Afr. 46 The ‘regular’ oil..is only subject to this allowance if the water and impurities exceed 2 per cent.
b. Of persons: Properly qualified or trained; specially or entirely given up to some occupation or pursuit.
1755Johnson s.v., A regular doctor. 1836W. Irving Astoria I. 244 Colter, with the hardihood of a regular trapper, had cast himself loose from the party. 1883‘Annie Thomas’ Mod. Housewife 46 Having had the strength of mind to abolish the so-called regular ‘cook’.
c. colloq. Thorough, complete, absolute, perfect.
1821Shelley Notes to Hellas Poet. Wks. (1891) 453/1, I could easily have made the Jew a regular conjuror. 1833R. H. Froude in Newman's Lett. (1891) I. 438 Perceval is..a regular thoroughgoing Apostolical. 1846Clough Let. in Poems, etc. (1869) I. 108 On Wednesday we had a regular flood, and it has been raining more or less ever since. 1885J. Payn Talk of Town I. 70 It was in this very fireplace I made a regular bonfire of them. 1956[see Belsen]. 1960J. Rae Custard Boys ii. xiii. 155 You're becoming a regular creeping Jesus. 1977Globe & Mail (Toronto) 2 Mar. 6/6 Here we are today, being urged to go on a regular orgy of appeasement.
d. regular fellow (or regular guy), an agreeable, ordinary, or sociable person. Freq. as a term of mild approbation; a ‘decent chap’. colloq. (chiefly U.S.).
A fortuitous juxtaposition in quot. 1840: cf guy n.2 2.
[1840Barham Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 44 Did you see her..With her knees to her nose, and her nose to her chin, Leering up..You'd lift up your hands in amazement, and cry, ‘—Well! I never did see such a regular Guy!’] 1920F. Scott Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise ii. 52, I know I'm not a regular fellow, yet I loathe anybody else that isn't. 1924Amer. Mercury Jan. 51/2 He was just one of so many mute and inglorious Babbitts preparing to qualify as regular fellows. 1930E. H. Lavine Third Degree xiii. 161 So he [sc. a policeman] usually decides to become a ‘regular guy’. 1936C. S. Lewis Allegory of Love iv. 173 Chaucer..was not a ‘regular fellow’, un vrai businessman, or a rotarian. He was a scholar, a courtier, and a poet. 1936H. L. Mencken Amer. Lang. (ed. 4) 254 When G. K. Chesterton made his first visit to the United States he was much upset when an admiring reporter described him as a regular guy. 1969P. Wiles in Ionescu & Gellner Populism 167 W. J. Bryan was to a degree exceptional even in the USA, a ‘regular guy’. 1977Zigzig June 17/1 He seems to be a regular, normal guy.
7. Mil. Of forces or troops: Properly and permanently organized; constituting the standing army.
1706Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) VI. 44 Squadrons of his regular troops and militia. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 305 His majesty's regular forces at present consist of about twenty-two thousand men. 1777Watson Philip II, xv. (1839) 317 A thousand regular troops, together with two thousand of the country people. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. (1890) I. 145 The regular army which was kept up in England at the beginning of the year 1685. 1860Motley Netherl. v. I. 270 Antwerp,..a city in which there was not a single regular soldier.
8. Astr. Of a satellite: (see quot. 1951).
1948D. ter Haar in Kgl. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Mat.-Fys. Medd. XXV. No. 3. 63 This group has orbits which are all approximately in the equatorial plane of the primary and whose eccentricities are small. We shall call these satellites the ‘regular’ satellites. 1951G. P. Kuiper in J. A. Hynek Astrophysics viii. 357 The satellite systems vary from the beautifully regular case of Uranus to a completely irregular system like Neptune... ‘Regularity’ is measured by low relative inclinations, low inclination with respect to the planetary equator, small orbital eccentricities, a common sense of motion—the same as that of planetary rotation—and some degree of regularity in the distances to the planet. 1960Jrnl. Brit. Astron. Assoc. LXX. 35 Regular satellites, eighteen in number, travelling in almost circular orbits in the plane of the equator of the parent planet.
B. adv. Regularly, steadily; thoroughly.
1710Palmer Proverbs 3 Another..pursues close and regular. Ibid. 82 'Tis impossible to judge well and act regular, when the mind is ruffl'd. 1824Mrs. Cameron Marten & his Scholars iii. 20 Why, my lad, don't you bring home tickets every day when you go regular? 1885‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 142 Oh, I'm regular jolly, I am!
C. Comb., as regular-bred, regular-built, regular-growing, regular-shaped.
1769Ellis in Phil. Trans. LIX. 145, I examined this scum.., and could discover it to be full of regular-shaped salts. 1775Sheridan St. Patr. Day ii. iv, I had rather follow you to your grave than see you owe your life to any but a regular-bred physician. 1802–12Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) I. 297 The implanting hand of the regular-bred practitioner. 1817J. K. Paulding Lett. from South I. 105, I can do this without forfeiting my character as a ‘regular built’ traveller, whose duty it is to tell all he sees, and more besides. 1827Scott Jrnl. 31 Jan., English boys..are well-bred, and can converse when ours are regular-built cubs. 1882Garden 23 Sept. 273/2 The blue Ash of Michigan..is a bold, regular-growing tree.
D. n.
†1. Sc. A regulator. Obs. rare—1.
1513Douglas æneis i. Prol. 346 Venerable Chaucer,..Hevinlie trumpat, horleige and reguleir.
2. Eccl.
a. A member of a religious order observing a rule; one of the regular clergy. (Cf. A. 1.)
1563Foxe A. & M. 593/1 Aboue twenty houses of begging friers besydes a great nomber of regulars and irregulars. 1570Ibid. (ed. 2) 1350/1 Who then folowing y⊇ rule of S. Benet, were called regulars & votaries. 1657Sparrow Bk. Com. Prayer 140 The Regulars and those of the strictest life did fast these weeks. 1683Apol. Prot. France vi. 91 The Cardinals, the Bishops,..all your Regulars, all your Clergy of France. 1767S. Paterson Another Trav. I. 391 After high mass..the regulars were marshalled in the choir. 1814Doyle in Fitz-Patrick Life (1880) I. 68 Thus you see how regularly the Regulars are at war. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xvii. 82 Regulars and seculars strove which should pay the highest honours to the returning hero.
†b. One who adheres to the usual religion.
1632Star Chamb. Cases (Camden) 172 If it had beene by a Papist against a Protestant, or by a schismatick against a regular.
†c. A properly appointed church-dignitary.
c1645Howell Lett. (1650) II. 49 Bishop Andrews and Sir Henry Martin..declar'd positively that he was not to fall from his dignity or function, but should still remain a regular.
3. A regular noun. rare—1. (With pun on 2 a.)
1633B. Jonson Tale of Tub iii. iv, I hear there's comfort in thy words yet, Canon. I'll trust thy regulars and say no more.
4. a. A soldier belonging to the standing army; a member of the regular forces. Usu. pl.
1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 305 On these occasions, they [the militia] receive the same pay as the regulars. 1796Stedman Surinam I. iv. 85 Both the regulars and the rangers..behaved with unprecedented intrepidity. 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge lxiii, The regulars and militia..began to pour in by all the roads. 1870Spectator 20 Aug. 993/1 If he actually declared war with only his regulars in the field, all is explained. 1917W. Owen Let. 23 Nov. (1967) 509 The C.O. is a terrible old ‘Regular’.
†b. A regular practitioner. Obs.
1764Foote Mayor of G. i. Wks. 1799 I. 163 Lint... An encourager of quacks, Sir Jacob. Sir Jac. Regulars, Lint, regulars. 1795Wolcott (P. Pindar) Pindariana Wks. 1812 IV. 204 Nor Quack nor Regular the mark will miss. 1894‘Mark Twain’ Let. 28 Jan. (1917) II. 606 When the mind-curist is done with you, you have to call in a ‘regular’.
c. A regular customer, contributor, etc.
a1852[see casual n. 3 a]. 1872‘Mark Twain’ Roughing It xliii. 299, I struck up friendships with the reporters of the other journals, and we swapped ‘regulars’ with each other and thus encouraged work. ‘Regulars’ are permanent sources of news, like courts, bullion returns, ‘clean-ups’ at the quartz mills, and inquests. 1898Daily News 27 Oct. 8/4 You see I has my regulars; mine aint no chance trade. 1902E. Banks Newspaper Girl xvii. 186 The ‘regulars’ are engaged on salary, and receive their weekly salaries every Saturday night. 1937S. L. Bernstein in C. Davy Footnotes to Film iv. 229 He can take the risk of alienating his ‘regulars’ in order to satisfy the requirements of the few. 1949S. Gibbons Matchmaker xx. 240 Mr. Waite was not a Regular at The Peal of Bells. 1959‘A. Gilbert’ Death takes Wife ix. 112 A woman entered his shop... She wasn't one of his regulars. 1970Daily Tel. 28 Sept. 2/2 The Ministry of Technology does not plan at present to introduce coal rationing..but it believes that local coal merchants will limit supplies to ‘regulars only’. 1978Dumfries Courier 20 Oct. 16/3 Their popularity with the Edenbank regulars was demonstrated last week when the couple were presented with a framed colour aerial photograph of the hotel.
5. Cant. (See quot.) Also in phr. to go regulars, to share profits. Now Obs.
1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Regulars, one's due share of a booty &c., on a division taking place. 1840H. Cockton Valentine Vox, Ventriloquist ii. 5 I'll hire the large concert room upon the Market Hill, and you shall go reg'lars in the profits. 1882Sydney Slang Dict. 7/2 Regulars, a thief's share of plunder. Ibid. 10/1 A cross-cove, who had his regulars for stalling, cried ‘Cop bung’, as a pig was marking.
6. In mediæval computation, one of a set of fixed numbers used for ascertaining on which day of the week each month began (solar regular), or of a set for finding the age of the moon on the first of each month (lunar regular).
1841R. T. Hampson Medii ævi Cal. II. Gloss. 331–2. 1973 Bodl. Libr. Rec. IX. 11 Lines 1–2 are a list of solar regulars, sometimes called ferial regulars.
Add:[A.] [4.] [c.] Also transf. of a person: having bowel movements or menstruation occurring at the proper intervals.
1880Lancet 14 Feb. 244/1 Patients, when asked if they have a motion of the bowels every day,..may insist that they are quite regular in that respect. 1934in J. E. Barker New Lives for Old (1935) x. 153, I am now 10 stone 10 lbs. 9 ozs., I am very regular and there are no signs of any of the old troubles. 1962H. Lourie Question of Abortion i. 9 When did you start having periods?.. So you've been absolutely regular for fourteen years? 1975P. Dickinson Living Dead xxviii. 192 ‘Does that mean you've started your baby?’.. ‘I hope so. I've missed a period and I'm pretty regular usually.’ 1982N. Rees Slogans 162 Keep ‘Regular’ with Ex-Lax. Ex-Lax chocolate laxative; US, current 1934. |