regulus1
/ˈrɛɡjʊləs
/noun (plural reguluses or reguli /ˈrɛɡjʊlʌɪ/ /ˈrɛɡjʊliː/)
1 Chemistry, archaic A metallic form of a substance, obtained by smelting or reduction.He also bought the nearby smelting works at Scotts Creek to refine copper regulus produced at the Bremer mine....
- When it demolished the furnace in 1882 it recovered also some copper from stockpiled regulus.
- This was smelted, which reduced the bulky and heavy copper ore to a much smaller and more valuable regulus, before transporting it to the English and Australian Copper Smelting Company at Port Adelaide or to England.
2A petty king or ruler.The king left him as sub regulus whenever he was out of the country.
Derivatives
reguline
sense 1.
Origin
Late 16th century: from Latin, diminutive of rex, reg- 'king'; originally in the phrase regulus of antimony (denoting metallic antimony), apparently so named because of its readiness to combine with gold.
Regulus2
/ˈrɛɡjʊləs/Astronomy
The brightest star in the constellation Leo. It is a triple system of which the primary is a hot dwarf star.
Origin
Latin, literally 'little king'.