Regards

How to spell regards

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce regards

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does regards mean?

1. nounFriendly greetings or good wishes sent to someone.
2. verbConsiders or holds someone or something in a particular way (third-person singular).
3. nounParticular points or matters being referred to, as in the phrase 'as regards'.

Regards in a sentence

• noun

  She signed the letter with warm regards to the whole family.

• verb

  The committee regards the proposal as too expensive to approve.

• noun

  As regards the budget, the figures still need approval.

• noun

  Please pass on my regards to your parents when you see them.

• verb

  She regards her old mentor with deep respect.

• noun

  The report says little with regards to future funding.

Where does regards come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the Old French regarder, which meant 'to watch over' or 'to look at attentively', built from the prefix re- (expressing repetition or intensity) and garder, meaning 'to guard, watch, or heed'. That garder came in turn from a Germanic root that also gave English the word 'guard', so 'regard' literally carried the sense of keeping a watchful eye on something. English adopted 'regard' in the 1300s, first meaning 'to look at' and then broadening to mean 'to esteem' or 'to consider'. From the idea of looking kindly on someone grew the noun sense of 'good wishes', which is why letters close with 'kind regards'. The form 'regards' is simply the plural noun (the bundle of good wishes you send) or the third-person verb, and its spelling stays faithful to that French and Germanic 'guard' ancestor.

How the word is built

• re- (back, again)
• gard (to watch, heed)
• -s (plural/third-person inflection)