Word forms: plural regencieslanguage note: The spelling Regency is usually used for meaning [sense 1].
1. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Regency is used to refer to the period in Britain at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and to the style of architecture, literature, and furniture that was popular at the time.
...a huge, six-bedroomed Regency house.
...the Regency period.
2. countable noun
A regency is a period of time when a country is governed by a regent, because the king or queen is unable to rule.
regency in British English
(ˈriːdʒənsɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-cies
1.
government by a regent or a body of regents
2.
the office of a regent or body of regents
3.
a territory under the jurisdiction of a regent or body of regents
Word origin
C15: from Medieval Latin regentia, from Latin regere to rule
Regency in British English
(ˈriːdʒənsɪ)
noun
the Regency
1.
(in the United Kingdom) the period (1811–20) during which the Prince of Wales (later George IV) acted as regent during his father's periods of insanity
2.
(in France) the period of the regency of Philip, Duke of Orleans, during the minority of Louis XV (1715–23)
adjective
3.
characteristic of or relating to the Regency periods in France or the United Kingdom or to the styles of architecture, furniture, art, literature, etc, produced in them
regency in American English
(ˈridʒənsi)
nounWord forms: pluralˈregencies
1.
the position, function, or authority of a regent or group of regents
2.
a group serving as regents
3.
a country or territory governed by a regent or group of regents
4.
the time during which a regent or regency governs
adjective
5. [R-]
designating or of a style of furniture of the French or British regencies, the French style characterized by scrollwork combined with natural forms, many curves, and strict balance and proportion, the English style by less massive forms and featuring metal or ebony inlay on mahogany and rosewood
Idioms:
the Regency
Word origin
ME regencie < ML regentia
Examples of 'regency' in a sentence
regency
Here, the colours were jade and ivory, attended by wallpapers, curtains, and bed-hangings in dark green regency stripe.
Skelton, Alison Scott AN OLDER WOMAN (2001)
At that point dy Jironal will see the regency he counted upon slipping through his fingers.