Etymograph

English

region

Region comes from Middle English regioun ‘a realm, nation, or country’, from Latin regiō ‘direction, line’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘to straighten’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-‘to straighten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃réǵeti‘to straighten’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*regōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEregō‘to rule’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEregiō‘direction’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400regiun
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500regioun‘a realm’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597region

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-‘to straighten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃réǵeti‘to straighten’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*regōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEregō‘to rule’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEregiō‘direction’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400regiun
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500regioun‘a realm’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597region

Earliest quotation: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wiues of Windsor: “he is of too high a region”.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘to straighten’

right, real, rich, royal, correct, regular, rank, arrangement, roy, radar, arrange, rack, rogue, raj, rex, rake, interrogation, dresser, rector, rani, regency, regal, undress, rajah, dressage, rhesus, eldritch, riel, derailleur, rectilinear, dirigible, interregnum, retch, 75 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti ‘to straighten’

ana, anorexia, 42 more

through Proto-Italic *regō

direction, resource, ruler, directory, regiment, erectile, regimen, erectus, erector, 37 more

through Latin regō ‘to rule, govern, direct’

source, director, rule, address, direct, dress, realm, regime, regulate, resurrection, erect, regent, rectify, insurrection, rectum, droit, dirge, incorrigible, irregularity, régime, rectification, rectitude, recto, rectus, derecho, regula, corregidor, 49 more

Today it means

noun Any considerable and connected part of a space or surface; specifically, a tract of land or sea of considerable but indefinite extent; a country; a district; in a broad sense, a place without special reference to location or extent but viewed as an entity for geographical, social or cultural reasons.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- / region

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