Irregularities

How to spell irregularities

14 letters · 6 syllables

How to pronounce irregularities

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does irregularities mean?

1. nounDepartures from what is normal, expected, or compliant with the rules; faults or inconsistencies, especially in accounts, procedures, or surfaces.

Irregularities in a sentence

• The auditor flagged several irregularities in the quarterly accounts.

• Officials launched an inquiry after voting irregularities were reported at three stations.

Where does irregularities come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin regula, which literally meant a straight stick or measuring rod used by builders to check that work was true and even; from it came the verb regulare, 'to control by rule', and the adjective regularis, 'according to rule'. Adding the negative prefix in- (which softens to ir- before an r) produced the Late Latin irregularis, meaning 'not according to rule'. The word travelled into English through Old French in the late medieval period, at first describing breaches of church or monastic rules, and only later broadening to mean any departure from the expected pattern. The abstract noun was built by stacking the suffix -ity, which turns adjectives into nouns of quality, onto the adjective, and the plural -ies records separate instances of such departures. The same regula root still sits inside the familiar words 'rule', 'regular' and 'regulate', which is a useful reminder that the heart of the word is spelled 'regul', with the doubled r belonging to the prefix ir- rather than the stem.

How the word is built

• ir- (not)
• regul- (from Latin regula: rule, measuring stick)
• -ar (adjective)
• -ity (noun)
• -ies (plural)