Region

How to spell region

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce region

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does region mean?

1. nounA defined area or part of a country, the world, or the body.

Region in a sentence

• The northern region of the country gets far more rainfall.

• A dull ache settled in the lower region of her back.

Where does region come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin regio, which originally meant a direction or line, and from there a boundary or a stretch of territory. The root is the verb regere, meaning 'to rule' or 'to direct in a straight line', the same root that gives us 'regent', 'regime' and 'direct'. The notion was that a region was an area marked off or governed within set limits. English took the word in during the 1300s by way of Old French 'region', already carrying its sense of a tract of land or part of a country. The spelling stayed close to the Latin, with the soft 'g' before 'i' explaining why it sounds like 'rejion' rather than a hard 'g'.

How the word is built

• reg- (from regere: to rule, direct)
• -ion (noun suffix)