Regulator

How to spell regulator

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce regulator

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does regulator mean?

1. nounAn official person or body that supervises an industry or activity to ensure rules are followed.
2. nounA device that automatically maintains a steady pressure, speed, temperature or voltage.

Regulator in a sentence

• The financial regulator fined the bank for misleading its customers.

• The diver checked that the pressure regulator on the tank was working before descending.

• Every airline must report safety incidents to the national regulator.

• A faulty voltage regulator caused the lights to flicker all evening.

Where does regulator come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb regulare, meaning 'to control by rule' or 'to keep straight', which itself was built on the noun regula, a 'rule' or literally a 'straight wooden stick' used for measuring and drawing lines. Behind regula stands the verb regere, 'to guide, direct or rule', the same deep root that gives us 'regent', 'regime' and 'regular'. English took 'regulate' in the early 1600s and quickly formed 'regulator' by adding the agent suffix -or, so that the word names anything (a person, body or device) that keeps something running by rule. The mechanical sense, a device that maintains a steady level of pressure, speed or voltage, grew up alongside the human sense of an official who oversees conduct. The spelling stays comfortably phonetic, with the -or ending (not -er) marking it as part of the Latin-derived family of agent nouns like 'operator' and 'navigator'.

How the word is built

• regul- (from Latin regula: rule, straight measuring stick)
• -ate (verb-forming)
• -or (agent suffix: a person or thing that does)