regencyn.adj.
/ˈriːdʒ(ə)nsi/, U.S. /ˈridʒənsi/ A. n.† II. Senses relating to teaching or supervision, esp. by a university regent.
I. Senses relating to government or rule by a regent.
1. † b. gen. The position or office of ruler; exercise of rule or authority; government, dominion, control. Obsolete.† c. In extended use. Obsolete.
a. The office and jurisdiction of a regent (regent n. 2) or vicegerent; government by a regent or by a body exercising similar authority.
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society > authority > rule or government > sole rule > [noun] > rule of regent
regency1429
regentry1558
1429 in Rotuli Parl. (1767–77) V. 416/1 (MED) As toward the Regencie of France occupied theire by my Lorde of Bedford..atte the Kynges commyng into his Reaume of France, that name and Office shuld cesse.
c1475 ( J. Hardyng Chron. (Harl.) (1812) 261 (MED) Regency [1543 Grafton constable then was he Of Englande hole to haue the regeny..For yf the lande..none heire knowe, To kepe the realme by his offyce hym owe].
1590 L. Lloyd Consent of Time 57 Asa..deposed his mother Maacha from her regencie, and threwe downe her idols which she had made in a groue.
1596 T. Danett Svpply ii, in tr. P. de Commynes Hist. vi. 249 The Duke of Orleance remaining in Paris, wan daily those that were in authoritie to his side: seeking by that meanes to obtaine the regencie of the realme.
1627 M. Drayton Miseries Queene Margarite in Battaile Agincourt 70 Yorke then which had the Regency in France, They force the King, ignobly to displace.
1660 R. Coke Elements Power & Subjection 101 in Justice Vindicated How came..Mary de Midici wife of Henry the Fourth..to manage the Regencie of France..?
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Regent Some have urged that Women being incapable of succeeding to that Crown, were incapable of the Regency; but Custom has declared in their favour.
1791 E. Burke Let. 16 Aug. in Corr. (1967) VI. 341 The Rebels say they will declare a Regency if the King refuses to accept.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth xii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 335 He transferred the regency which he had so foully acquired, to his son Murdoch.
1878 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (1896) III. xviii. 169 The king's illness placed the queen and the duke of York in direct rivalry for the regency.
1921 L. Strachey Queen Victoria i. 15 In 1814, her husband died, leaving her with two children and the regency of the principality.
1973 J. Brooke King George III ii. 27 Since 1751 the right of the surviving parent to exercise the powers of regency on behalf of an infant sovereign has been the invariable rule.
2003 Wilson Q. Spring 36 When King Ghazi died..in 1939, the British engineered a regency in the name of his infant son that left power in the hands of the regent and the pro-British prime minister.
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society > authority > rule or government > [noun] > action or act of
ruling?c1225
governingc1384
governancec1400
government?c1400
gubernationc1450
regence?1457
regencya1475
subjectionc1475
regimenc1485
administration1516
signorizing1588
ministry1700
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 7851 Ryhtwysnesse..A swerd mad for an Emperour..And al that hauen regencie Aboue other, or maystrye.
?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) 212 Heyll, reytyus rewlar in þi regensy!
1593 T. Bilson Perpetual Govt. Christes Church To Rdr. sig. ¶3 They haue framed a Running regencie, that shall goe round to all the Presbyters of each place by course, and dure for a weeke, or fome [sic] such space.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. li. 108 The scepter of Christs regencie euen in the kingdome of heauen.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 128 She..had the prerogatiue of the regencie ouer the greatest kingdome.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 267 Custom in Government..made her Regency taste somwhat stale and spiritless.
1711 Fingall MSS in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 114 Mankind might wish to be under the regency of such a monarch.
1769 H. Brooke Fool of Quality IV. 169 I had made a Vow..to forsake her and the Country, the very Day after her Regency [as Queen of the May].
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 169/1 The glorious first man of Ezekiel, and the god-like first men of the cosmogony..who held the regency of the earth.
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1600 C. Edmondes Obseruations Fiue Bks. Caesars Comm. iv. xi. 156 The motion of this waterie element is altogither directed by the course of the moon, wherin she exerciseth her regency, according as shee findeth the matter qualified for her influence.
1635 H. Valentine Foure Sea-serm. 24 This Planet hath a regencie, and dominion over moist bodies.
1681 J. Flavell Method of Grace xxvii. 457 The deposing of corruption from its regency and dominion in the soul.
1701 N. Grew Cosmol. Sacra iii. ii. 101 Men, have Knowledge and Strength... Women, Affection... And herewith, Beauty; to compensate their Subjection, by giving them an Equivalent Regency over Men.
1774 H. Brooke Juliet Grenville (Dublin ed.) I. 41 Passion, during its regency, never called either reason or religion to it's council.
1840 Fraser's Mag. 22 457 His passions,..spurning the regency of judgment, exercised..undivided sway.
a1890 A. Phelps My Note-bk. (1891) vii. 169 Conscience claims regency in everything that a man should aim to do or to be.
2. Usually with capital initial. The period during which a regent governs; spec. the period in France from 1715 to 1723 when Philip, Duke of Orleans, was regent, or in Britain from 1811 to 1820 when George, Prince of Wales, was regent.
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society > authority > rule or government > sole rule > [noun] > rule of regent > period of
regency1607
Régence1845
the world > time > relative time > the past > historical period > [noun] > other historical periods
antiquityc1375
Christian antiquity1577
the days of ignorance1652
the time of ignorance1652
dark ages1656
Lower Empire1668
the age of reason1792
Scythism1793
grand siècle1811
the Age of Enlightenment1825
the Hundred Days1827
Tom and Jerry days1840
regency1841
industrial age1843
Régence1845
viking age1847
ignorance1867
renascence1868
Renaissance1872
gilded age1874
jazz era1919
jazz age1920
post-war1934
steam age1941
postcolonialism1955
information age1960
1607 E. Grimeston tr. Gen. Inuentorie Hist. France ii. 60 They gaue out, that it was the Treasor of Charles the 5. the which he caused Sauoysy to deliuer in the beginning of his Regency.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xvi. 665/1 It was the euill hap of the Duke of Sommerset, that Normandy was lost during his Regencie.
1696 P. Ayres Revengeful Mistress 83 It was during the Regency of the present Queen Mother of Spain, and Minority of her Son, this King Charles the Second, that our Story happened.
1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. at Reistres The German Horse, that came into France during the Regency of Queen Catharine of Medicis.
1771 J. Bentham Hist. & Antiq. Church of Ely I. 144 During his [sc. William Longchamp's] Regency, in order to strengthen the place of his Residence, he surrounded the Tower of London with a large and deep Foss, intending to flood it by a communication with the river Thames.
1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 358/2 It was during the English regency that the power of Napoleon was broken, and peace was restored to Europe.
1869 W. E. H. Lecky Hist. European Morals II. v. 326 The moral tone..was..lower, probably, than in France under the Regency, or in England under the Restoration.
1908 A. W. Benn Mod. England I. 127 The literary splendour of the Regency and the first years of George IV.
1968 Michelin N.Y. City 59 Two large wooden panels painted by Boucher..represent the period of the Regency (early 18th century).
1971 R. Allen Suedehead iv. 26 His own rooms reflected some of the large house's former glory—decorated ceilings with sunburst plaster-work.., doors dating back to a period just after Regency.
1991 T. Pakenham Scramble for Afr. xxv. 460 Goldie was a throwback from the Regency, pleasure-loving, Byronic, buccaneering.
3. † b. = regent n. 2. Obsolete. rare.† c. A body of people appointed by a ruler to govern a town, city, or territory in a kingdom or empire on the ruler's behalf. Compare sense A. 4. Obsolete.† d. A council or meeting of the members of a regency. Obsolete. rare.
a. A body of people appointed to administer the affairs of a country or state during the absence, minority, or incapacity of the monarch; a government constituted in this way. Also in extended use: a group that manages or administers in the absence of a manager or political leader; an inside group or clique controlling affairs.
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society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > [noun] > other types of government
regency1643
myriarchy1650
responsible government1782
charter-government1796
co-government1834
minority government1859
internationalism1879
minority rule1886
Labour government1892
provisional government1916
paepae1937
society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > manager or administrator > body of or collectively > in absence of manager
regency1940
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. iii. 68 How sodainely would they ruin our Parliament, Lawes, Liberties; subvert all civill order, government; erect an arbitrary Lawlesse tyrannicall Regency regulated by no lawes but will and lust?
1701 Duke of Anjou's Succession further Consider'd 1 Those who compose the Regency of Spain, have devolv'd the most essential part of their Government upon the French King.
1750 H. Walpole Let. 25 Feb. in Lett. to H. Mann (1833) II. 346 We expect some chagrin on the new Regency at the head of which is to be the Duke.
1788 Sir W. Young Let. 25 Nov. in Duke of Buckingham Mem. Court & Cabinets George III (1859) II. 18 The Opposition..are exceedingly embarrassed, even supposing the Regent, or Regency, to venture on the change of Ministry.
1842 N. Hawthorne Biogr. Stories for Children ix. 151 A number of..statesmen, who were called a Regency.
1845 S. Austin tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Reformation in Germany (ed. 2) II. 45 It made no difference whether the States supported the Regency or not.
1940 Sun (Baltimore) 13 Aug. 15/5 Secretary Knox named a three-man ‘regency’ to publish and edit the News while he holds his Cabinet post.
1956 New Republic 9 Jan. 2/3 There's some evidence the Administration ‘Regency’ is using Ike's absence to even old scores.
1963 Daily Tel. 12 Jan. 15/3 Leading members of the Parliamentary Labour party have been angered by a suggestion..that a ‘Regency’ has been set up to rule in the absence of Mr. Gaitskell.
1987 M. D. Peterson Great Triumvirate vi. 337 A trio of brothers who in the eyes of rivals constituted, with Elmore, ‘the Regency’ devoted to Calhoun in the lowcountry.
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society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > regent > [noun]
wardena1400
regentc1425
defensor1426
protector1426
interking1533
interrex1579
interregent1600
regency1643
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. App. 68 Don Sancho..took upon him the Title of Regency of the Kingdome of Castile and other his Fathers dominions, refusing the Title of King, during his Fathers life time.
1814 Ld. Byron Diary 18 Feb. in Poet. Wks. (1846) The avowal and republication of two stanzas on Princess Charlotte's weeping at Regency's speech to Lauderdale in 1812.
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society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > local government body > [noun] > town or borough council
corporation1463
Common Council1467
consulatea1513
state1516
town council1637
commonality1649
regency1704
communa1711
municipality1790
municipal corporation1833
commune1837
borough council1879
municipy1882
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > [noun] > the government of Islamic state
regency1796
1704 London Gaz. No. 4015/2 Baron Taston is made Vice-Stadholder, and as such will preside over the Regency at Amberg.
1706 London Gaz. No. 4239/1 Deputies from the neighbouring Regencies [in Germany].
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson iii. ix. 389 When these prisoners got to Canton, the Regency sent for them.
1769 Lloyd's Evening Post 22–5 Sept. 295/1 The Regency of Venice have sent orders that no more bodies shall be dug out of the ground.
1796 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1892) XIII. 240 The purport of your private letter..(that part of it I mean which relates to the Frigate for the Regency of Algiers) has surprised me exceedingly.
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1741 Duke of Newcastle Let. in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1914) 29 474 I beg we may meet..to consider a little, what may be proper to do the next Day at the Regency.
1748 H. Walpole Let. 26 May (1846) II. 242 There was a great Regency kept in town.
e. U.S. In full Albany Regency. A group of politicians in the Democratic Party, led by Martin Van Buren and based in Albany, New York State, who dominated the party's local and national organization from c1820 to c1840. Now historical.
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1824 Niles' Reg. 4 Sept. 3/1 These great states..will add a moral force..that will forbid their being the tail-pieces of any ‘junto’ or ‘regency’ that can ever be got up.
1830 Albany Jrnl. 10 Sept. 1/2 The Regency folks in Greene county go the hog.
1859 N.Y. Herald 2 Sept. 4/4 Having slaughtered him and cut him up the Regency offer his carcass for sale as they would a round or a shoulder of beef.
1888 A. Johnston in Winsor Hist. Amer. VII. v. 283 The methods of the ‘Albany Regency’, whose members..made it their rule never to desert a party friend or forgive disobedience or breach of party discipline.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 490/1 The Argus..was long the organ of the coterie of New York politicians known as the ‘Albany Regency’, and was one of the most influential Democratic papers in the United States.
1992 Rev. in Amer. Hist. Dec. 592 In New York, Benson found, the proto-Jacksonian ‘Albany Regency’ faction..did not lead the campaigns for universal male suffrage and popular election of the president.
2007 E. Renehan Commodore xi. 128 There was also Dean Richmond.., himself being a member of the so-called ‘Albany Regency’ group which dominated politics at the New York State Capitol.
4. A town, city, or other territory forming part of a kingdom or empire and governed by a person or body of people in whom authority has been vested by the ruler of the kingdom or empire. Now chiefly historical.
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society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > territory under a governor or official > [noun] > under other specific governors or officials
sergeancy1371
limitation1535
commissionership1625
warnership1636
mairie1650
regency1656
grieveship1711
see land1732
residentship1800
banate1804
intendancy1810
field-cornetcy1826
inspectorate1883
1656 N. Stephens Plain Calculation Name & Number of Beast v. 102 The scope of this Scripture is concerning the Division of the Fourth Kingdom into Ten Regencies or Divisions at one time.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 748 Regions they pass'd, the mightie Regencies of Seraphim and Potentates and Thrones. View more context for this quotation
1780 Ann. Reg. 5 The territory appertaining to the regency of Burghausen.
1788 tr. M. Chenier Present State Morocco I. i. i. 2 Tremecen..which was formerly subject to Morocco, having been conquered by the Turks of Algiers, is now a part of the territories of that Regency.
1817 T. S. Raffles Hist. Java I. iii. 142 The rice fields of a regency are divided among the whole of the population.
1838 Sparks' Biogr. IX. vii. 245 The Bashaw gave permission to the American agent to leave the Regency.
1914 Times 9 Aug. 2/6 There is a small army of occupation in the Regency of Tunis.
1977 Arab Times 13 Nov. 4/8 Twelve people have died and 98 others have been hospitalised for cholera in the south Sulawesi regency of Selayar.
1979 Libya: Country Study (ed. 3) i. 19 The Ottoman Maghrib was formally divided into three regencies—at Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.
2000 J. Azema Libya Handbk. 259 Military councils..were formed to administer the Barbary regencies, as the Ottoman provinces on the North African coast were known.
5.
a. The period of time during which a member of a faculty holds a teaching post at a university. Obsolete.
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a1500 in H. A. Person Cambr. Middle Eng. Lyrics (1953) 45 Than happyd that in arte I had the magistery My Regency finischyd I had habilite ffurther to procede.
b. The office or function of a university regent (regent n. 3). Obsolete.
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society > education > teaching > teacher > university or college teacher > [noun] > Scottish > position of
regency1614
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > examiner > at universities > office of
regency1614
examinership1826
1614 T. Jackson Third Bk. Comm. Apostles Creede iii. To Rdr. sig. a 6v These and like points, being fortified by strength of argument, in the time of your Regencie or fare-well to the studie of Artes, might bee polished at your better leisure.
c1650 J. Spalding Memorialls Trubles Scotl. & Eng. (1851) II. 74 Mr. Alexr Scrogie..deposit fra his regency..had gottin sum pensioun fra the King.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 548 In 1446, he being then in his Regency, he became one of the Commissaries of the University.
1714 J. Ayliffe Antient & Present State Univ. Oxf. II. iii. i. 157 If there be any Students..having applied themselves to the Study of Divinity for 15 or 16 Years, to be reckon'd from the Time of their Regency, at 30 Miles Distance from the University..they may take their further Degrees by Accumulation.
1771 Gentleman's Mag. 41 19 Every fellow is obliged to leave that College after he has completed eighteen years from his Regency in Arts.
1841 G. Peacock Observ. Statutes Univ. Cambr. 11 Every master of arts..was sworn to continue his regency for five years.
1895 H. Rashdall Univ. Europe in Middle Ages II. xii. 475 The privilege of studying Theology after Regency in Arts.
6. A kind of academic exercise undertaken by Jesuits. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1839 H. Hallam tr. P. D. Huet in Introd. Lit. Europe IV. i. 104 The Jesuits..write and speak Latin well; but their style is always too rhetorical..owing to their keeping regencies (an usual phrase for academical exercises) from their early youth.
B. adj. (chiefly attributive)
Designating a style of architecture, clothing, furniture, etc., characteristic of the British Regency of 1811–20 or, more widely, of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, featuring neoclassical elements often with Greek and Egyptian motifs.
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the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [adjective] > specific fashions
pompadour1756
regency1811
Lavallière1873
greenery-yallery1881
empire1887
Régence1891
sporty1895
Gibson1901
Beatle1963
mod1964
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > work of art > [adjective] > types of artistic treatment or style
antica1536
Moresque1611
barbaric1667
massive1723
popular1730
maniéré1743
regency1811
tedesco1814
massy1817
Barbaresque1831
sensualistic1838
broad1849
conventional1851
expressional1856
tight1891
stylized1898
distressed1940
pop1956
transgressive1969
1811 Repository of Arts May 292 White muslin robe,... simply confined in the center with a regency broach.
1812 Times 29 May 1/1 A rich assemblage of novelties in Regency sarsnets, checked washing silks, [etc.]
a1874 J. E. Austen-Leigh in Jane Austen: Teenage Writings (2017) 240 She sends me a long account of the new Regency walking dress Lady Susan has given her... She says nothing indeed except about the Regency.
1880 E. Glaister Needlework viii. 86 Shield-backed chairs of the Regency fashion.
1918 A. Bennett Pretty Lady vi. 25 He had furnished his flat in the Regency style of the first decade of the nineteenth century.
1933 Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail 3 Dec. 4/1 (caption) Chic robe of Regency red waffle velvet.
1954 J. Betjeman Few Late Chrysanthemums 43 I pulled aside the thick magenta curtains—So Regency, so Regency, my dear—.
1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds iii. 64 The Louis Quinze sofa and chairs, the Regency escritoire.
1991 D. Purcell Place of Stones (1992) x. 365 It was decorated in the Regency style with a profusion of pastels and stripes, tassels and furbelows.
Compounds
C1. General attributive, as regency act, regency bill, regency cap, regency post, etc.
ΚΠ
1706 N. Luttrell Diary 12 Jan. in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) VI. 5 The committee, to whom the regency bill is committed.
1743 H. Walpole Let. 14 Apr. in Corr. (1954) XVIII. 209 The Earl of Bath and Mr Pelham, neither of them in regency posts, are to be of the number.
1791 F. Burney Jrnl. Aug. (1972) I. 48 We talked over..the King's illness! This..was here a tender subject, considering her heading the Regency Squadron.
1811 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1949) IX. 5 Oh dear Sir, pray take care of any regency Caps I hope to sell hundreds of them.
1867 C. Grey Early Years Prince Consort 351 The Regency Bill..will to-day be read for a third time in the House of Lords.
1887 W. E. H. Lecky Hist. Eng. 18th Cent. V. 145 Whig ladies appeared in society with caps that were known as ‘regency caps’ and with ribands indicating their politics.
1969 Listener 14 Aug. 211/2 The young Ptolemy, or his regency council, was ruling at Alexandria.
1993 E. Bloom & L. Bloom Piozzi Lett. III. 455 Once again the king was restrained in a straightcoat. And again there was talk of a regency bill.
C2.
Regency buck n. a rakish or extravagantly fashionable or sociable man of the British Regency period; (hence generally) any man of this type; cf. buck n.1 2b.
ΚΠ
1859 Once Week 1 Oct. 272/2 A stout old gentleman..with a general savour of the Regency buck about him, decking the window of a St. James's Street club.
1911 ‘L. Melville’ Some Aspects of Thackeray vii. 156 The second marquis was a notorious roué, whereas his son, the third marquis, was nothing out of the way in this attribute—for a Regency buck.
1984 F. Tuohy Coll. Stories 368 The dashing Regency Buck of past years had come to suggest a retired jockey too fond of the bottle.
2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Aug. 6/3 Essentially a Regency buck of a cheerfully amoral disposition in his private life.., he became the epitome of mid-Victorian Britain and the hero of the sober and serious.
Regency point n. Lacemaking a kind of lace with a closely-worked pattern along the edge, popular during the British Regency period.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > consisting of loops or looped stitches > lace > needle or point > types of
point de Venise1668
French point1675
point d'Espagne1676
Alençon lace1774
point de France1774
point-net1829
rose-point1832
point de Paris1840
point d'Alençon1842
point d'Argentan1842
Irish point1851
point d'aiguille1851
point de gaze1863
Venetian point1864
Burano lace1865
Greek lace1865
gros point1865
mermaid's lace1865
point de neige1865
punto a rilievo1865
punto in aria1865
Regency point1865
Venice point1865
point de reprise1872
point russe1872
Greek point1882
hollie point1882
Venetian raised point1882
point de minute1886
point de Sorrentoc1890
1865 F. B. Palliser Hist. Lace xxx. 364 A ‘point’ lace, with the ‘cloth’ or ‘toilé’ on the edge, for many years was in fashion, and in compliment to the Prince, was named..‘Regency Point’. It was a durable and handsome lace.
1900 E. Jackson Hist. Hand-made Lace 193 Regency Point Lace. This lace, made in Bedfordshire, was in great demand during the Regency early in the nineteenth century. The edge is thick, the ground, a complicated réseau, or hand-made mesh.
1930 T. Wright Romance of Lace Pillow (new ed.) II. xv. 219 During the Regency (1810–1820) there was made in Northamptonshire a striking lace, with fillings of a bold character, which was called Regency Point.
1989 H. Toomer Lace 159 The gimp thread is used within the motifs rather than as an outlining thread. This form is sometimes called ‘Regency point’ but its design indicates that it is of a later date than the Regency period.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1429