REG'ULAR, adjective [Latin regularis, from regula, a rule, from rego, to rule.]

1. Conformed to a rule; agreeable to an established rule, law or principle, to a prescribed mode or to established customary forms; as a regular epic poem; a regular verse in poetry; a regular piece of music; regular practice of law or medicine; a regular plan; a regular building.

2. Governed by rule or rules; steady or uniform in a course or practice; as regular in diet; regular in attending on divine worship.

3. In geometry, a regular figure is one whose sides and angles are equal, as a square, a cube, or an equilateral triangle. regular figures of more than three or four sides are usually called regular polygons.

4. Instituted or initiated according to established forms or discipline; as a regular physician.

5. Methodical; orderly; as a regular kind of sensuality or indulgence.

6. Periodical; as the regular return of day and night; a regular trade wind or monsoon.

7. Pursued with uniformity or steadiness; as a regular trade.

8. Belonging to a monastic order; as regular clergy, in distinction from the secular clergy.

Regular troops, troops of a permanent army; opposed to militia.

REG'ULAR, noun

1. In a monastery, one who has taken the vows, and who is bound to follow the rules of the order.

2. A soldier belonging to a permanent army.