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regnant

[reg-nuh nt]
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adjective
  1. reigning; ruling (usually used following the noun it modifies): a queen regnant.
  2. exercising authority, rule, or influence.
  3. prevalent; widespread.
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Origin of regnant

1590–1600; < Latin rēgnant- (stem of rēgnāns), present participle of regnāre to rule; see reign, -ant
Related formsreg·nan·cy, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for regnant

Historical Examples

  • It was urged that Nero was then regnant when this command of non-resistance was given.

    Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies)

    John Howie

  • Even a mild admonition from the regnant Pope had failed to produce any effect.

    The Shadow of the Czar

    John R. Carling

  • It was the regnant minority which rushed the South into secession.

    The Arena

    Various

  • His regnant desires, by which his worthy little life was governed, were to love and to please.

  • In the regnant silence she rose, laid aside her book, softly opened the door, and stepped as softly into the narrow passage.

    There and Back

    George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for regnant

regnant

adjective
  1. (postpositive) reigning
  2. prevalent; current
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Derived Formsregnancy, noun

Word Origin

C17: from Latin regnāre to reign
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for regnant

adj.

"reigning, exercising authority," c.1600, from Latin regnantem (nominative regnans) "reigning," present participle stem of regnare "to reign" (see reign). Adjective regnal (1610s) means "pertaining to a reign," especially in reference to the day or year a reign began.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper