Regent

a. [Lat. regens, p. pr. of regere, to rule; Fr. régent, Pr. regen, Sp. regente, It. reggente.]

1. Ruling; governing; regnant. “Some other active regent principle that resides in the body.” Hale.
2. Exercising vicarious authority. Milton.

Queen regent, a queen who governs;—opposed to queen consort.

n. [Fr. régent, Pr. regen, Sp. regente, It. reggente. See supra.]

1. One who rules or reigns; a governor; a ruler. “Uriel . . . regent of the sun.” Milton.
2. Hence, one invested with vicarious authority; one who governs a kingdom in the minority, absence, or disability of the sovereign.
3. One of a governing board; a trustee or overseer; a superintendent; a curator; as, the regents of the Smithsonian Institute.
4. (Eng. Universities.) (a.) A master of arts of less than five years standing, or a doctor of less than two. (b.) In colleges, a teacher of arts and sciences whose pupils are generally of the lower classes.

The regents form the governing body of the universities, in the convocation and congregation at Oxford, and in the academical senate at Cambridge. 5. (State of New York.) A member of the corporate body which is invested with the superintendence of all the colleges, academies, and schools in the state. Bouvier. This board consists of twenty-one members, who are called “the regents of the University of the State of New York.” They are appointed and removable by the legislature. They have power to grant acts of incorporation for colleges, to visit and inspect all colleges, academies, and schools, and to make regulations for governing the same. Stat. New York.