Reigning

How to spell reigning

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce reigning

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reigning mean?

1. adjectiveCurrently holding a royal throne, championship, or title.
2. verbHolding royal office or being predominant; the present participle of reign.

Reigning in a sentence

• adjective

  The reigning monarch opened parliament with a formal speech.

• verb

  The king was reigning over a vast and prosperous kingdom.

• adjective

  She is the reigning world champion in the heavyweight division.

• verb

  Confusion was reigning in the office after the sudden announcement.

Where does reigning come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from the verb 'reign', which English took from the Old French regner, itself descended from the Latin regnare, meaning 'to rule as a king or queen'. The underlying Latin noun was regnum, meaning 'kingship' or 'kingdom', and that same root family gives us 'regal', 'regent' and 'royal'. The awkward silent 'g' in the spelling is a direct inheritance from the Latin regnum, even though English speakers stopped pronouncing it long ago, which is exactly why the word looks nothing like the way it sounds. English adopted 'reign' in the 1200s, and the -ing form developed naturally as the language built participles and adjectives from its verbs. The biggest spelling trap is not the silent 'g' but the 'ei' vowel and the confusion with its sound-alikes 'raining' (falling water) and 'reining' (controlling a horse), so anchoring it to royalty and ruling helps fix the right letters.

How the word is built

• reign (from Latin regnum: royal rule)
• -ing (present participle / adjective suffix)

Words that sound like reigning

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• raining: Falling as rain; water dropping from the clouds.