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regent

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "regent", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "regent" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "regent" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

regent is aEnglishnoun. It means: One who rules in place of the monarch, especially because the monarch is too young, absent, or disabled. Pronounced /ˈɹiːd͡ʒənt/. Often confused with rent and reset.

Key facts for regent
PropertyValue
Headwordregent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹiːd͡ʒənt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#16,109
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of regent in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for regent is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹiːd͡ʒənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,109 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for regent, with forms such as "ergent", "reegnt", and "regennt". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "rent", "reset", "Rogen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English regent, from Anglo-Norman regent, Middle French regent, and their source, Latin regēns (“ruling; ruler, governor, prince”), present participle of regō (“I govern, I steer”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is regent, spelled R-E-G-E-N-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who rules in place of the monarch, especially because the monarch is too young, absent, or disabled.
  2. 2
    Any ruler.
  3. 3
    A member of a municipal or civic body of governors, especially in certain European cities.
  4. 4
    A member of governing board of a college or university; also a governor of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
  5. 5
    The chief executive of a regency.

Etymology

From Middle English regent, from Anglo-Norman regent, Middle French regent, and their source, Latin regēns (“ruling; ruler, governor, prince”), present participle of regō (“I govern, I steer”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ergent,reegnt,regennt,regentt,regetn,reggent,regnet,rgeent,rregent

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for regent

Misspelling Variants of "regent"

ergent6reegnt6regennt7regentt7regetn6reggent7regnet6rgeent6
Misspelling Variants of "regent"

Frequency rank: #16,109 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "regent"?
"regent" is spelled R-E-G-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹiːd͡ʒənt/.
What does "regent" mean?
As a noun, "regent" means: One who rules in place of the monarch, especially because the monarch is too young, absent, or disabled.
What words are commonly confused with "regent"?
"regent" is commonly confused with "rent", "reset", "Rogen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "regent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "regent" is /ˈɹiːd͡ʒənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "regent"?
From Middle English regent, from Anglo-Norman regent, Middle French regent, and their source, Latin regēns (“ruling; ruler, governor, prince”), present participle of regō (“I govern, I steer”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.