regi-, reg-, rec-, rex-

(Latin: to direct, to rule, to lead straight, to keep straight; to guide, to govern)

Although it does not appear to be correct, all of the words in this unit etymologically come from this family group. Some words; such as, surge and its related formats, may be presented as separate units; however, they originally evolved from this family unit.

pax regis (Latin phrase)
The peace of the king.

The peace of the king; that is, the peace, good order, and security for life and property that is one of the objects of government to maintain, and which the king, as the personification of the power of the state, is supposed to guaranty to all persons within the protection of the law.

This term was also given in ancient times, to a certain privileged district or sanctuary. The pax regis, or verge of the court, as it was afterwards called, extended from the palace-gate to the distance of three miles, three furlongs, three acres, nine feet, nine palms, and nine barleycorns. [The verge or virge is from old English law and referred to the area of the royal court that bounded the jurisdiction of the lord steward of the household].

—From Black's Law Dictionary, 6th ed.; St. Paul, Minnesota;
West Publishing Co.; 1990.
rail (s) (noun), rails (pl)
1. A barrier consisting of a horizontal wooden or metal bar and supports which people can use to hold on to in order to keep from falling: There was a rail in the department store elevator for the customers to hold on to when going from one floor to the next.
2. A bar or bars of rolled steel making a track, or tracks along which vehicles can travel: Street cars and trains, for example, use rails to proceed from one place to another.
3. The railroad as a means of transportation: The products were transported by rail to the various stores.
4. Etymology: "a bar" from early 14th century, from Old French reille, from Common Latin regla, from Latin regula, "straight stick" from a form related to regere, "to straighten, to guide".

Technically, railings are horizontal while palings are vertical.

realm (s) (noun), realms (pl)
1. A region or area in which something prevails or is in control: Francis was told by her superior that her plan for increasing profits for her company was in the realm of possibility.
2. A special field or sphere of something: James was very interested in the realm of chemistry.
3. Etymology: from Latin regimen, "rule, government."
A place where something takes place.
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rectalgia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Pain at the anus or in the rectum; proctalgia: Lucy went to see her doctor because she was suffering in the area of her excretory opening, and Dr. Right diagnosed her as having a case of rectalgia which could be treated.
rectangle (rek-TAN-guhl) (s) (noun), rectangles (pl)
A plane figure with four straight sides and four corners, all of which are equal, or anything shaped like this: Sharon's father had constructed twenty cabins that were in the form of rectangles to rent to summer tourists to live in while they were vacationing near the lake.
rectangular (rek-TANG-you-luhr) (adjective), more rectangular, most rectangular
1. Relating to a square-shaped structure that has four cube-like surfaces: A rectangular drawing is one that has four right angles which are also defined as an equiangular or quadrilateral figures.
2. Etymology: from the Latin rectangulus; a combination of rectus, "right" + angulus, "angle".
rectangularly (adverb), more rectangularly, most rectangularly
Referring to how a figure is formed with four straight sides and all of its intersections at 90 degrees: Herman made a neat rectangularly shaped garden area behind his house.
rectifiable (rek" tuh FIGH uh buhl) (adjective), more rectifiable, most rectifiable
Relating to something that can be corrected or made right: Mike had some rectifiable grammar errors to remove or to correct in his book report before he handed it in to his English teacher.
rectification (rek" tuh fi KAY shuhn) (s) (noun), rectifications (pl)
1. Something that is corrected or made right by editing a written report or making the best adjustments to objects: There were not enough chairs for everyone to sit on at the concert, so a rectification was made by providing more seats for all of those who were attending.
2. A procedure that involves decontaminating or cleaning a material: Rectification can be described as the process of removing impure substances from oil, metals, sugar, etc.
rectifier (REK tuh figh" uhr) (s) (noun), rectifiers (pl)
Someone who makes others aware of something: One kind of rectifier is a teacher whose job is to correct students when they make mistakes.
rectify (REK tuh figh") (verb), rectifies; rectified; rectifying
To make something accurate and correct or proper and respectable: The saleslady amended, or rectified, the amount Eddie had to pay for the antique vase because she had charged too much for it.
To correct by calculation or accuracy.
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rectigrade (adjective), more rectigrade, most rectigrade
A reference to the movement forward in a straight line or course: Rectigrade motion can be seen in larvae having 16 legs which progress with a straight body as opposed to the geometrid moth larvae which show looping motions when they advance.
rectilineal (adjective), more rectilineal, most rectilineal
Descriptive of a straight line or lines: Some cities are planned to have rectilineal streets and roads, not crooked or curved, but quite aligned with each other.
rectilinear (adjective), more rectilinear, most rectilinear
1. Characterized by straight lines: Since Edward and his wife didn’t like flowery patterns for their wallpaper, they chose colorful one-dimensional, or rectilinear, patterns instead.
2. Etymology: "a straightforward line of descent", from Late Latin rectilineus which comes from the Latin words rectus, "straight" + linea, "line".

A lesser-known variant, "rectilineal", comes from the same Late Latin rectilineus and employs the -al suffix instead of -ar.

Rectilineal still shows up occasionally, but rectilinear is used much more.

rectilinearly (adverb), more rectilinearly, most rectilinearly
Pertaining to how lines are formed in a straight way: Susan rectilinearly sketched on her pad of paper, trying to re-create the modern-looking curtains she was looking at in the café where she was sitting.

Cross references of word families related directly, or indirectly, to: "master, lead, leading, ruler, ruling, govern": -agogic; agon-; arch-; -crat; dom-; gov-; magist-; poten-; tyran-.