Regimen

How to spell regimen

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce regimen

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does regimen mean?

1. nounA systematic plan or routine, especially of diet, exercise, or medical treatment, followed to maintain or improve health.

Regimen in a sentence

• Her doctor prescribed a strict regimen of medication and rest.

• A daily regimen of stretching kept his back pain under control.

Where does regimen come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes straight from the Latin regimen, which meant 'rule, guidance, direction, or government'. It was built on the verb regere, meaning 'to rule, to guide, or to keep straight', the same root that gives us 'regent', 'regiment', and 'regular'. English adopted regimen in the late fourteenth century, originally in a broad sense of governing or controlling something, and medical writers soon applied it specifically to a prescribed course of diet, exercise, and treatment for managing health. Over time the word narrowed to that orderly, systematic schedule of care we know today. The spelling trap is the unstressed final syllable: writers often confuse it with 'regiment' (a military unit) or 'regime' (a system of rule), so remembering the plain -imen ending tied to the idea of guidance helps keep it straight.

How the word is built

• reg- (from regere: to rule, guide)
• -imen (Latin noun suffix forming a result or means)