Summary: Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 09, 2014 is: regnant \REG-nunt\ adjective 1 : exercising rule : reigning 2 a : having the chief power : dominant b : of common or widespread occurrence Examples: There was increasing pressure on the regnant king to produce an heir. "As Washington considers how to save the Postal Service, it ought to cast its eyes toward Europe, where mail delivery is one of the few areas where privatization is regnant." From an article by Troy Senik in the Orange County Register (California), October 17, 2013 Did you know? The etymology of "regnant" is fairly straightforward: English speakers borrowed the word sometime around 1600 from Latin. "Regnant" is derived from the Latin verb "regnare," meaning "to reign." "Regnare," in turn, traces back to the noun "regnum," meaning "reign," which derives from "rex," the Latin word for "king." Other descendants of "regnum" include "interregnum" ("a period between two successive reigns or regimes"), "regnal" ("of or relating to a king or his reign"), and even "reign" itself.
