Regal

How to spell regal

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce regal

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does regal mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to a king or queen, or having the dignity and grandeur associated with one.

Regal in a sentence

• The hotel lobby had a regal feel, with marble columns and gold trim.

• She gave a regal wave to the crowd from the balcony.

Where does regal come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word regal comes from the Latin regalis, meaning 'of a king' or 'kingly', which was built directly on rex, the Latin word for 'king' (and its stem reg-, seen in the genitive regis). The same rex root literally pointed to the one who rules or guides, and it gives us a whole family of related English words including regalia, regent, and regicide, as well as the word royal, which travelled the same path but through Old French. English took regal from the Latin form (partly by way of Old French) in the late 1300s, and from the start it carried the sense of grandeur and dignity fit for a monarch. It is worth noting that royal and regal are essentially the same Latin word arriving twice: royal came softened through French, while regal stayed closer to its Latin shape, which is why it keeps the hard 'g' and the simple -al ending. Remembering the link to rex and reign helps fix that single 'g' and the -al spelling in place.

How the word is built

• reg- (from Latin rex, regis: king)
• -al (adjective suffix: relating to)