Rēg'ū-lar1, a.
a. [Lat. regularis, from regula, a rule, from regere, to guide, to rule; It. regolare, Sp. & Pg. regular, Fr. régulier.]
Sense 1. Conformed to a rule; agreeable to an established rule, law, or principle, to a prescribed mode, or to established customary forms; normal; 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.
Sense 2. Governed by rule or rules; steady or uniform in course, practice, or occurrence; not subject to unexplained or irrational variation; returning at stated intervals; steadily pursued; orderly; methodical; periodical.
Sense 3. Instituted or initiated according to established forms or discipline; as, a regular physician.
Sense 4. Belonging to a monastic order; as, regular clergy, in distinction from the secular clergy.
Sense 5. (Bot.) Characterized by uniformity in structure or condition, as where subordinate parts of the same kind closely resemble each other, and are symmetrically arranged. Henslow.
Regular polygon (Geom.), a polygon which is both equilateral and equiangular.—Regular polyhedron, a polyhedron whose faces are equal, regular polygons, of which sort there are four; viz., the hexahedron or cube, the octahedron, the dodecahedron, the icosahedron.—Regular troops, troops of a permanent army;—opposed to militia.
Synonyms—Normal; orderly; methodical; periodical. See NORMAL.