rule

A1 Topic:Law & Government

US /ɹuːl/ See IPA manual

Freq #1440

Meanings

1

noun
An instruction that says what you are or are not allowed to do.

All players must follow the rules of the game.
2

noun
The period during which a king, queen, or government holds power.

The country prospered during her rule.
3

verb
To have official power over a country or its people.

The emperor ruled the empire for forty years.
4

verb
To make an official decision, especially in court.

The judge ruled that the company had broken the law.

Thesaurus

Etymology

From Middle English reule, rewle, rule, borrowed from Old French riule, reule, from Latin regula (“straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern”), from regō (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of rail, regal, regula, and rigol.

*h₃reǵ- Proto-Indo-European reule Middle English riule Old French regula Latin *h₃réǵeti Proto-Indo-European

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# rule

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ɹuːl/
**Frequency rank:** 1440

## Meanings
1. An instruction that says what you are or are not allowed to do.
2. The period during which a king, queen, or government holds power.
3. To have official power over a country or its people.
4. To make an official decision, especially in court.

## Examples
- All players must follow the rules of the game.
- The country prospered during her rule.
- The emperor ruled the empire for forty years.
- The judge ruled that the company had broken the law.

## Related Forms
- administer
- administration
- administrator
- algorithm
- ambiguous
- attribute
- basic
- bureaucracy
- bureaucrat
- caprice
- characteristic
- clear

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₃reǵ-
- Root: reule
- Root: riule
- Root: regula
- Root: *h₃réǵeti

## Etymology
From Middle English reule, rewle, rule, borrowed from Old French riule, reule, from Latin regula (“straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern”), from regō (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of rail, regal, regula, and rigol.

## AI Etymology
Rule comes from Middle English reule, rewle, rule, borrowed from Old French riule, reule, from Latin regula (“straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern”), from regō (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of rail, regal, regula, and rigol. Modern senses include an instruction that says what you are or are not allowed to do. and the period during which a king, queen, or government holds power.. The wider word family includes related forms such as administer, administration, administrator, and algorithm.

## Topics
- Law & Government

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rule

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