# interregnum

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɪntəˈɹɛɡnəm/ · frequency rank #74,198

## Definitions
1. A period of time between the end of one monarch's reign and the accession of their successor.
2. A break in continuity; a gap, an intermission.
3. A period of time between when a minister or pastor leaves a church and when a new one is installed.
4. A period of time between the end of one political leader's term and the start of the term of their successor; a period of time during which normal executive leadership is interrupted or suspended, and a polity is either left without leadership or has only a temporary one.
5. A temporary exercise of authority or rule during a period of time when there is no monarch or political leader.

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin interrēgnum, from inter- (prefix meaning ‘between’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér (“between”)) + rēgnum (“reign; royal power”) (nominalized from the neuter of *rēgnus, from rēx (“king; ruler”, oblique stem rēg-) + -nus (suffix forming adjectives), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to righten; to straighten”)).
The plural form interregna is a learned borrowing from Latin interrēgna.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/interregnum