regularlyadv.
/ˈrɛɡjᵿləli/, U.S. /ˈrɛɡ(jə)lərli/ 1. † b. As a matter of rule; without exception. Obsolete. rare.
a. In conformity to a general rule or established principle; in a steady, predictable, or uniform manner.
ΚΠ
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 40v (MED) Sche sendiþ þe coler regulerly from ech gutt to oþer & þat for þis cause for it schulde pricken, waischen & helpen þe expulsif vertu.
?1518 Kalender of Shepardes (new ed.) sig. J.vv The eyght skye is of sterres fyxed, & ben called so for that they moue more regulerly and after one guyse then the planettes do.
1561 R. Eden tr. M. Cortés Arte Nauigation ii. x. sig. Eivv The Arabians and Persians accompted it [sc. the year] regulerly by .xii. moones which are .354. dayes.
1580 G. Harvey in E. Spenser & G. Harvey Three Proper & Wittie Lett. 44 Sometime this, sometime that, hath been noted by good wits in their Analyses, to fall out generally alyke? and as a man woulde saye, regularly in all, or moste wordes.
1599 T. Hill Schoole of Skil i. 43 In euery Artificiall day, doe sixe signes appeare, and sixe like set vnder the earth: therefore is the earth in the middle of the worlde, and is also as a pricke, to which the halfe doth regularly moue dayly.
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus 69 Accent (as it belonged to Church-men) is a melody, pronouncing regularly the syllables of any words, according as the naturall accent of them requires.
1664 G. Havers tr. T. Renaudot et al. Gen. Coll. Disc. Virtuosi France c. 579 Even when Nature acts regularly, we cannot but be more at a loss in the combinations of forms and species, and coupling of sexes, which are deviations from the rule of Nature.
1701 F. Atterbury Serm. House of Commons 7 We are so apt to forget God's Administration of the great Affairs below, when they go on evenly and regularly.
a1764 R. Lloyd Poet. Wks. (1774) II. 175 Who prey on words, and all their flow'rets cull, Coldly correct, and regularly dull.
1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 10 306 The late influenza..proceeded desultorily in some cases, in others it was more regularly progressive.
1863 N. Amer. Rev. Oct. 376 The fundamental idea is, as we have seen, the world a pre-ordered, regularly developed system.
1924 A. J. Allmand & H. J. T. Ellingham Princ. Appl. Electrochem. (ed. 2) xxiii. 594 Furnaces with free-burning arcs operate with solid charges more quietly and regularly than do direct arc furnaces.
1994 S. Romaine Lang. in Society iii. 69 While idiolects..considered in isolation might seem random, the speech community as a whole behaved regularly.
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1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. xv. 141 True it is that other parts in animals are not equall..; but for the principall parts, the liver, heart, and especially the braine, regularly it is but one in any kinde or species whatsoever. View more context for this quotation
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. xvi. 143 Now if it be so ordained that some must regularly perish by multiplication, and these be the fruits of fructifying in the Viper; it cannot be said that God did blesse, but curse this animall. View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [adverb] > methodically
regularlyc1475
methodically1570
normally1598
systematically1646
regular1704
scientifically1764
hand over hand1824
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > restrained or moderate behaviour > [adverb] > in orderly or consistent manner
regularlyc1475
steadily1540
regular1704
consistently1706
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 11 Þer may no craftis man worche regulerly in suget or matir þat he knowith not... So þanne it folowiþ þat a sirurgian þat knowiþ not þe anothamye of mannys body ne mai not worche regulerly þeron.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 47 (MED) Þus endiþ þe lastre chapitre of þe secunde distinccioun..in þe whiche is y tretid regulerly þe anothamye of alle the membris in mannys body.
1612 J. Cotta Short Discouerie Dangers Ignorant Practisers Physicke iii. i.120 Nature cannot with election or regularly purge the right and proper humor, fitting the cause and necessitie.
1689 Bp. G. Burnet Tracts I. 87 There was..an Anthem sung by a set of Musicians very regularly.
1698 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus I. iii. i. 241 During the Life-time of Jehoiada, Joash behaved himself regularly, and governed well.
1735 J. Barrow (title) Dictionarium Polygraphicum: Or, The Whole Body of Arts Regularly Digested.
1789 in R. Renwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Glasgow (1913) VIII. 298 To work the quarry regularly and proper[l]y and the stone to the bottom of the post.
1810 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1836) 24 Mar. V. 573 They are bringing a battering train into Spain from France, which looks like an intention to go regularly to work.
a1856 W. Hamilton Lect. Metaphysics (1859) I. i. 9 This question has never, in so far as I am aware, been regularly discussed.
3. According to or in accordance with a rule or set of regulations; (hence) in a proper or formally correct manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [adverb]
regularly1502
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > [adverb] > according to rule or standard
formlyc1374
rulefully?c1400
rulilyc1443
rulely?a1450
orderly1465
regularly1502
naturally1526
ordinately1549
usually1573
orthodoxly1641
regular1704
standardly1913
1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) iv. v. sig. rviv No man is bounde regulerly, And by the commaundement of holy chirche [to confess] but one tyme in the yere, that is at tyme of ester.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. SSSiiv Whiche seruice or houres canonicall, regularly we syng, rede or say in the churche.
1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua Def. of Peace f. 80 It is not called ryght or laufull regulerly after any of the wayes & maners of these wordes afore rehersed for the handelynge of an other mans thynge is regulerly prohybyted.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 84/1 After his death she is free from the law, to mary to whom she wyll, so it be in the Lord, that is, regulariter, regularely.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Rrr2v A man regularly is to haue surety of peace against him, of whome he will sweare that he is afraide, and the Iustice required herevnto cannot denie him.
a1665 J. Goodwin Πλήρωμα τὸ Πνευματικόv (1670) ii. 31 A Covenant or Deed in writing is made good in Law by a Seal, (regularly) affixed to it.
1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xvi. 112 It came regularly before the house, and it was their business to determine upon it.
1786 W. A. Clarke Full & Faithful Narr. vi. 93 I was a regularly Licensed Minister according to the Act of Toleration.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 193 He well knew that, if the crown descended to his wife regularly, all its prerogatives would descend unimpaired with it.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. ix. 345 Spearhafoc..had been regularly nominated to the bishopric.
1880 H. M. Dexter Congregationalism x. 527 In what manner Councils are regularly called. This has been uniformly done by a form of written request, which has received the technical name of a Letter-Missive.
1902 J. Conrad Typhoon i. 5 His Captain had..entered him regularly on the ship's articles as Ordinary Seaman.
1920 N.Y. Times 11 Oct. 1/2 The old Ku Klux Klan has been reorganized and is regularly chartered under the laws of Georgia.
1965 Law & Contemp. Probl. 30 885 Courts may also consider..charges that..the tribunal was not regularly constituted or properly composed.
2002 Relig. & Amer. Culture 12 72 Jean Dementi..was one of the first women regularly ordained to the priesthood in 1977.
4. Steadily, evenly; by degrees.
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1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 825 It is by occasion of the augmentation of the Moones flame, which regularly and by order is lightned by little and little.
1666 J. Beale Let. 7 May in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) III. 162 Thus the degrees of Heate might be ascertained by weight, & the degrees of Cold infer'd by the equable proportions of a Thermometer, that was regularly graduated for Heate.
1755 J. Smith Printer's Gram. 257 Drafts for composing all the Sizes that regularly descend from In-Folio , viz. Quarto's, Octavo's, Sixteen's, Thirty-two's, Sixty-four's, and Hundred twenty-eight's.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 3 Now as its velocity increases regularly, we may conclude, that [etc.].
1883 Science 15 June 534/1 Usually the temperature falls pretty regularly from 5 to 30 fathoms.
1940 G. Gamow Birth & Death of Sun i. 5 The radiation of hot bodies regularly increases with their temperature, being proportional to the fourth power of the temperature as counted from absolute zero.
1992 Geogr. Rev. 82 257 Potential transpiration decreases regularly from equator to pole in both hemispheres.
5. In a balanced or harmoniously proportioned manner; evenly or uniformly with regard to physical form, structure, or organization.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > symmetry or regularity > [adverb]
proportionallyc1475
symmetrically?1578
regularly1629
symmetriously1656
1629 F. Malthus tr. Treat. Artific. Fire-works 215 You may take for the length of euery line of defence..100 or 110 fathom and so euery bastion shall bee scowred with musket-shot, as the forts built regularly.
a1658 J. Durham Clavis Cantici (1668) 320 Like bright ivory, that is regularly and curiously enambled and indented with saphires.
1695 J. Dryden tr. R. de Piles in tr. C. A. Du Fresnoy De Arte Graphica 126 Those great Painters..had indeed made things more regularly true, but withall very unpleasing.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 478. ⁋7 Shelves, on which Boxes are to stand as regularly as Books in a Library.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 296 The City..is regularly built, the Streets all exactly strait.
1771 T. Pennant Tour Scotl. 1769 68 Great columns of stone..regularly pentagonal or hexagonal.
1806 B. M'Mahon Amer. Gardener's Cal. 16 Espaliers are hedges of fruit-trees, which are trained up regularly to a lattice or trellis of wood work.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxvii. 379 The whole forming a regularly laminated mass.
1894 G. Du Maurier Trilby II. 89 Both had regularly-featured faces of a noble cast.
1931 K. M. Smith Textbk. Agric. Entomol. xiii. 215 Legs piceous, third tibiae with a row of 6-8 short bristles of equal length, regularly spaced on the postero-internal face.
1964 D. Nicholls in Oceanogr. & Marine Biol. 2 402 Iridophores containing regularly-arranged gelatinous plates which possibly reflect light on to the more sensitive regions of the animal.
2002 Nature 21 Mar. p. xi/3 Mesoporous materials are porous materials with regularly arranged, uniform pores 2–50 nm in diameter.
6. At fixed times or uniform intervals; repeatedly, without interruption; frequently, often.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > periodically
termlya1450
by circuit1601
revolvingly1611
tide-wise1611
periodically1646
statedly1658
regularly1665
regular1704
clockwork-like1761
1665 R. Boyle Let. 22 Oct. in Corr. (2001) II. 561 Permit mee [not] for a weeke or 10 days to cont[inue] my Correspondence with you so regularly as I was wont.
1699 G. Harvey Vanities Philos. & Physick viii. 63 The Heart and Arteries of the Infant in the Womb do not pulsate regularly, or orderly.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 141. ⁋10 I regularly frequented coffee-houses.
1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall V. l. 246 Till the third day before his death, he regularly performed the function of public prayer.
1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 12 He passed through..regularly twice a-day.
1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son liii. 530 My Wednesday nights came regularly round.
1885 Manch. Examiner 10 July 5/2 The mine was regularly worked with naked lights.
1927 Daily Tel. 31 May 13/2 We night-fly regularly in America. It's the ideal time for flying in the States.
1969 G. Greene Coll. Essays III. iii. 345 The money Henley regularly received from Stevenson, even after their friendship had ceased.
1999 BBC Vegetarian Good Food May 66/1 Potassium..helps keeps the heart beating regularly.
2005 A. Burdick Out of Eden (2006) xx. 265 I saw a notice on the calendar announcing a mandatory and regularly scheduled drill: ‘Survival Suit Try-on Day!’
7. In the usual or normal manner; usually, typically, ordinarily.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [adverb] > usually or customarily > in the usual or ordinary way
formally1607
regularly1720
ordinarily1831
normally1856
1720 tr. Don Carlos in Select Coll. Novels (1722) III. 8 Don Carlos was not regularly handsome: But besides an admirable Complexion, and the finest Head in the World, he had Eyes so spritely and full of Fire..that it cou'd not be said he was disagreeable.
1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. M5v Mutilatus s. Mutilus flos, a mutilated flower. Not producing a corolla, when it ought regularly to do it.
1807 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 22 517 One of the men servants..was infected from one of the pustules, and had the disease regularly.
1886 Hazell's Ann. Cycl. 265/1 Koumys is now regularly made from cow's milk.
1908 Jrnl. N.-China Branch Royal Asiatic Soc. 39 87 At Peking the So Na is regularly made of two sizes.
1958 C. Oman David Garrick xiii. 331 Lady Georgiana was, if not regularly beautiful, so attractive that it was later said that the word charming might have been invented to describe her.
2001 Atlanta (Georgia) Jrnl.-Constit. (Nexis) 12 July 1 jj Giving special-needs kids the same opportunity as regularly educated children is key.
8. colloquial. Completely, absolutely, positively. Now rare.Chiefly with participles and adjectives.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > utterly
allOE
allOE
outlyOE
thwert-outc1175
skerea1225
thoroughc1225
downrightc1275
purec1300
purelyc1300
faira1325
finelyc1330
quitec1330
quitelyc1330
utterlyc1374
outerlya1382
plainlya1382
straighta1387
allutterly1389
starkc1390
oultrelya1393
plata1393
barec1400
outrightc1400
incomparablyc1422
absolutely?a1425
simpliciter?a1425
staringa1425
quitementa1450
properlyc1450
directly1455
merec1475
incomparable1482
preciselyc1503
clean?1515
cleara1522
plain1535
merely1546
stark1553
perfectly1555
right-down1566
simply1574
flat1577
flatly1577
skire1581
plumb1588
dead?1589
rankly1590
stark1593
sheera1600
start1599
handsmooth1600
peremptory1601
sheerly1601
rank1602
utter1619
point-blank1624
proofa1625
peremptorily1626
downrightly1632
right-down1646
solid1651
clever1664
just1668
hollow1671
entirely1673
blank1677
even down1677
cleverly1696
uncomparatively1702
subtly1733
point1762
cussed1779
regularly1789
unqualifiedly1789
irredeemably1790
positively1800
cussedly1802
heart1812
proper1816
slick1818
blankly1822
bang1828
smack1828
pluperfectly1831
unmitigatedly1832
bodaciously1833
unredeemedly1835
out of sight1839
bodacious1845
regular1846
thoroughly1846
ingrainedly1869
muckinga1880
fucking1893
motherless1898
self1907
stone1928
sideways1956
terminally1974
1789 Triumphs of Fortitude II. 4 A young fellow..who is what may be called regularly dissipated.
1832 J. H. Newman Lett. & Corr. (1891) I. 274 Not that I expect to be regularly well as long as I live.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xii. 110 Your father's regularly rich, ain't he?
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 263 Glad to see you are regularly embarked in squatting life.
1927 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. T. Mann Magic Mountain (London ed.) I. iii. 70 She could be wildly hilarious, regularly giggly, like a little kid.
1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman iv. 60 What should I find but that brother of mine that was always used to have been as prim and as tonnish as the starchiest nob of them all regularly under the hatches!
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.c1475