reign

C1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ɹeɪn/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like wren /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Freq #7242

Meanings

1

noun
The period during which a king or queen rules.

The reign of Queen Victoria lasted over sixty years.
2

verb
To rule as a king or queen.

Henry VIII reigned for nearly forty years.
3

noun
A period during which someone or something is dominant or in control.

The team enjoyed a long reign at the top of the league.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms reignedreigningreigns

Derived forms coreignoutreignreignerrereign

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

reigning queen
the queen who is currently ruling

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English regnen, from Old French reignier, from the Latin verb rēgnō, and the noun rēgnum. Doublet of regnum. Displaced native Old English rīċe (“a reign”) and ricsian (“to reign”).

*h₃reǵ- Proto-Indo-European regnen Middle English reignier Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# reign

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ɹeɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 7242

## Meanings
1. The period during which a king or queen rules.
2. To rule as a king or queen.
3. A period during which someone or something is dominant or in control.

## Examples
- The reign of Queen Victoria lasted over sixty years.
- Henry VIII reigned for nearly forty years.
- The team enjoyed a long reign at the top of the league.

## Derived Forms
- coreign
- outreign
- reigner
- rereign

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₃reǵ-
- Root: regnen
- Root: reignier

## Etymology
From Middle English regnen, from Old French reignier, from the Latin verb rēgnō, and the noun rēgnum. Doublet of regnum. Displaced native Old English rīċe (“a reign”) and ricsian (“to reign”).

## AI Etymology
Reign comes from Middle English regnen, from Old French reignier, from the Latin verb rēgnō, and the noun rēgnum. Doublet of regnum. Displaced native Old English rīċe (“a reign”) and ricsian (“to reign”). The historical chain includes *h₃reǵ- (Proto-Indo-European), regnen (Middle English), and reignier (Old French). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as coreign, outreign, reigner, and rereign. In present use it covers the period during which a king or queen rules, to rule as a king or queen, and a period during which someone or something is dominant or in control.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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