▪ I. reign, n.
(reɪn)
Forms: α. 3–5 reyne, 4–5 reyn, reine; 4–5 regn, 4–7 regne, reigne, (6 riegne), 5–6 reygne, 7– reign; 5 raen 6 raine, rayn(e, raygne, 6–7 raigne, 7 raign, (raighne). β. 3–5 rengne, 5 ryngne. γ. 5, 6 Sc. renge, 6 Sc. ring, ryng.
[a. OF. regne, reigne, rai(g)ne, rengne, etc. (10th c.; mod.F. règne), ad. L. regnum (whence also It. regno, Sp. reino), f. regĕre to rule. The Sc. forms show a normal development of gn into ng.]
1. a. Royal power or rule; kingdom, sovereignty; also transf. power or rule (of persons) comparable to that of a king. Now rare († formerly common without article).
| a 1272 Luue Ron 71 in O.E. Misc. 95 Ector..and cesar..beoþ iglyden vt of þe reyne. a 1300 Cursor M. 9318 ‘Princs o pees’ sal man him call, And neuermar es regn fall. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 65 Tille Harald, Godwyn sonne, þe regne wille best falle. c 1386 Chaucer Monk's T. 221 King, god to thy fader lente Glorie and honour, regne, tresour, rente. 1450–80 tr. Secreta Secret. 6 So that alle tho that ben vndir his regne ben of oon obeyshaunce. 1534 Whitinton Tullyes Offices i. (1540) 12 There is no sure fellowship nor sure trust in hyghe reygne. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. iii. 40 Then shall Cadwallin die; and then the raine Of Britons eke with him attonce shall dye. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 246 The English, vnder the Raigne of Queene Elizabeth, obtained like priuiledge. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. xxiii. (1674) 26 Empires.. which know not how to perfix bounds to their insatiate desire of Reign. 1725 Pope Odyss. ii. 265 He who like a father held his reign. 1770 Goldsmith Des. Vill. 288 Some fair female unadorned and plain, Secure to please while youth confirms her reign. 1782 Cowper Heroism 90 In Britain's isle, beneath a George's reign. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab i. 10 The gloomy Power Whose reign is in the tainted sepulchres. 1851 Thackeray Eng. Hum. iii. (1853) 111 In a British drawing-room, under the reign of Queen Victoria. |
b. transf. Influence, dominion, sway, of something immaterial. † in reign, dominant.
| c 1402 Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. 510 So that Dispyt now holdeth forth hire reyne, Through hasty bileve of tales that men feyne. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 204 Lyke Prince and King, he led the Regne, Of all Iniquitie. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. v. 28 She gan to stoupe, and her proud mind convert To meeke obeysance of love's mightie raine. 1656 Jeanes Mixt. Schol. Div. 20 A soule that is free from both the raigne, or prevalency, and the anxiety of doubts. 1768 Woman of Honor III. 131 The allodial sistem was in reign before it was supplanted by the feodal one. 1781 Cowper Hope 33 Would age in thee resign his wintry reign. 1821 Shelley Remembrance 10 The owlet Night resumes her reign. 1867 Duke of Argyll Reign of Law i. 5 The Reign of Law in Nature is..universal. 1883 Century Mag. Oct. 804/1 A country where both winter and summer were debarred full reign. |
2. † a. A kingdom or realm; a territory ruled over by a king; a monarchical state. Obs.
| a 1300 K. Horn 971 Mi Rengne þu schalt welde. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 992 Dido, This is the reyne of libie there ye bin. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. vi. (1555), In your repayre to your fathers reyne..ye shall me with you lede. c 1500 Lay Folks Mass Bk. 74 Ye sall pray for y⊇ prosperite & wallfare of ys Reygne. 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxvi. 51 Dyuers duikis and kingis,..Exylit from þair countreis and thair ringis. 1623 Lisle Saxon Serm. Easter day, There was slain on y{supt} night in every house throughout Pharaos reigne the first borne child. 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 12 A gorgeous train Attend the nymph to Phthia's distant reign. |
| transf. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 642 Þe heie god..Þat heuene holdeþ & haþ to his hole regne. |
† b. The kingdom of heaven or of God. Obs.
| 1340 Ayenb. 83 Þe regne of heuene to wynne, and alle þe dyeuelen..to ouercome. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶5 Manye been the weyes espirituels that leden folk..to the regne of glorie. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 244 b/2, I shalle drynke it newe wyth you in the regne of my fader. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 466/1 They shall..awake at the blast of the trumpe, and euer after liue with y⊇ lorde in his reigne. 1594 Carew Tasso (1881) 29 Th' angels earst banisht from the heau'nly raine. |
c. poet. A place or sphere under the rule of some specified person or thing, or having a specified character. Now rare.
| c 1398 Chaucer Fortune 45 Thou born art in my regne of variance. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. vii. 21 A beaten broad high way..That streight did lead to Plutoes griesly rayne. Ibid. iii. iv. 49 Like as a fearefull Dove, which through the raine Of the wide ayre her way does cut amaine. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 543 The universal Host upsent A shout that..Frighted the Reign of Chaos and old Night. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 38 Or wilt thou, Cæsar, chuse the watry Reign..? 1754 Gray Poesy 9 Thro' verdant vales, and Ceres' golden reign. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam i. xlviii, The ocean Which girds the pole, Nature's remotest reign. |
† d. = kingdom 5. Obs. rare.
| 1748 Thomson Cast. Indol. ii. xi, The vegetable and the mineral reigns. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xviii. II. 90 The venom was commonly extracted from the vegetable reign. |
3. a. The period of a sovereign's rule.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 28 Þe ferth ȝere of þe regne..þese þre..Werred on Athelstan. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 121 Of þe regne of þe kyng Richard þe secunde, þe secunde ȝer. 1434 E.E. Wills 100 The reyn of our lege lord the kyng Harre the sexte,..the xj yer. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 3 Here beganne the rayne of kyng Henry the third, sonne unto kynge John. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xxix. 149 b, At the time of the deluge..& in the riegne of Ducalion. 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 35 In the tenth yeare of his raigne, he sent forth a generall Edict. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 43 ¶9 That Celebrated Poem, which was written in the Reign of King Charles the Second. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xlix. V. 130 During the five succeeding reigns,..the contest was maintained with unabated rage. 1833 Cruse tr. Eusebius' Eccl. Hist. i. x. 39 It was about the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius. 1841 Lane Arab. Nts. I. 106 After a reign of seventy years, he died. |
| transf. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xviii. 9 Sum cravis of God to end my ring. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 475 This during Winter's drisly Reign be done. 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Reign, the length or continuance of a man's career in a system of wickedness, which..is said to have been a long or a short reign, according to its duration. |
† b. The ‘life’ of a ship. Obs. rare—1.
| 1674 Petty Dupl. Proportion 32 If no trading Ship be (one time with another) above 1/10 of her whole reign under sail, or 6 days in 60. |
c. Reign of Terror: see terror.
4. attrib., as reign mark, a mark on a piece of oriental ceramic ware indicating in whose reign it was made; reign name, title, the symbolic name adopted by a Japanese or (formerly) Chinese ruler, by which his reign is known and dated.
| 1936 Burlington Mag. Jan. 10/2 Distinguished by a reign mark in blue or pink enamel. 1980 Catal. Fine Chinese Ceramics (Sotheby, Hong Kong) 6 Where a reign mark is given after the measurement no attribution to the period of this reign is intended unless the words ‘and period’ are added. |
| [1834 C. Gützlaff Sketch of Chinese Hist. I. iv. 89 The Han Dynasty... The characters given after the emperors' names are the kwŏ-haou, ‘national designations’ of the emperors during their reigns. 1848 S. W. Williams Middle Kingdom II. xvii. 229 Kwoh Hiau, or Reigning Title.] 1935 C. P. Fitzgerald China xxiii. 457 Every Ming Emperor retained the same reign title for the full duration of his reign. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia X. 78/1 Mutsuhito, who took the reign name Meiji (‘enlightened rule’, 1863–1912). 1976 Times 10 Nov. 17/1 Reign titles disappeared from China with the fall of the empire in 1911: in Japan they still survive. |
▪ II. reign, v.
(reɪn)
Forms: α. 3–6 regn, 4, 6 rein-, 4–6 reygn-, 4–7 reyn-; 5, 6 Sc. rigne, 6 ryne; 5–6 rayne, (6 raygne), 5–7 raine, 6–7 raign(e, 7 rain; 4–7 reigne, 6– reign. β. 4–5 rengne, 4, 6 reyngne, 5 reingne. γ. 4 reng, reyng, 4 Sc. reinge, 4–7 Sc. ring, (5–6 ringe), 4–5 Sc. ryng (5 rynge.) pa. tense 5, 6 Sc. rang, 6 Sc. rong; pa. pple. 5 Sc. rongyn, 6 Sc. rung.
[a. OF. regner (12th c.; mod.F. régner), ad. L. regnāre, f. regnum: see prec.]
1. intr. To hold or exercise the sovereign power or authority in a state; to rule or govern as king or queen; sometimes in restricted sense, to hold the royal office without being actual ruler, to have a limited or nominal sovereignty.
| α 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 681 After king baþulf leir is sone was king & regnede þritti ȝer. c 1325 Chron. Eng. 110 in Ritson Metr. Rom. II. 274 He reignede after his fader fyn. c 1400 Destr. Troy 5492 The richest renke, þat reigned in Erthe. 1482 J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 10 Kyng Herry schuld..regne as welle as he dyd before. 1523 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 31 The grete vexacion of his subiectes..by Francoys now raynyng there. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 31 During the time Edward the third did raigne. 1657 Austen Fruit Trees i. 13 This King raigned a long time in Jerusalem. 1738 Bolingbroke Patriot King (1749) 138 He must begin to govern as soon as he begins to reign. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xlix. V. 128 She reigned in her own name and that of her son. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam x. xli, But he..The Princess shall espouse, and reign an equal King. 1859 Tennyson Guinevere 519 Worst of the worst were that man he that reigns! 1871 Daily News 15 Sept., A Monarch who desired to rule as well as to reign, would soon bring government to a deadlock. |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 7973 Dauid had rengnd..A-but winters tuelue and mare. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1321 Þat ryche in gret rialte rengned his lyue. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. st. 651 Þe fyftenethe ȝere of hurre brother rengnynge. 1534 in Lett. Suppress. Monast. (Camden) 18 The rayn of the kyng, how long he shall reyngne, as sayth a prophecy. |
| γ a 1300 Cursor M. 2285 Lang he rengud in þat land. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 78 He suld..lat him ryng that had the rycht. c 1400 Sc. Troy-bk. ii. 2164 That Tewtere rengand þare was. 1533 Bellenden Chron. Scot. i. (1541) A j, In this tyme rang in Egipt Pharo. a 1584 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xlviii. 268 God blisse his Grace, and mak him long to ring. |
b. Const. over, † upon, (on).
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 230 Þat he & his children regne long tyme vpon Israel. c 1400 Trevisa's Higden (Rolls) VI. 151 He regnede over þe West Saxons. 1450 Rolls of Parlt. V. 200/2 The honour..of every Prynce reynyng uppon his people. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 297 Wulfere, A noble valyant prynce..Reygnynge vpon the Mercyens. a 1542 Wyatt in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 224 He ruleth not though he raigne ouer realmes. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. vi. 461 He should have made in vain So great a Prince, without on whom to Reign. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ i. i. §16 They bring the poorer under their power, and reign as Lords over them. 1726 Pope Odyss. xviii. 127 Affright the dogs, and reign A dreaded tyrant o'er the bestial train! 1887 Times (weekly ed.) 7 Oct. 2/4 The English Sovereign reigns over one-fifth of the whole human race. |
c. transf. or fig. of God, Christ, etc.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 4200 In Capharnaum he [Antichrist] sal regne alswa. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 258 Þei wolden not þat Crist rengnede on hem; and neþeles Crist..regneþ upon all þis world. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 2 Þe place of hem þat regnun in heuen wiþ Crist. c 1450 Holland Howlat 474 Our Saluatouris sepultur,..Quhar he raiss, as we reid, richtuiss to ryng. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 297 They bothe reygneth holy sayntes before god perpetually. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 110 Our God forsuith Ringis in heuin full hie. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. i. xxxii, Who reigned'st in thy heaven, yet felt'st our hell. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 814 That mortal dint, Save he who reigns above, none can resist. 1788 Cowper Negro's Compl. iv, Is there One who reigns on high? 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam i. xxvii, The Fiend did revel In victory, reigning o'er a world of woe. |
d. fig. of things (more or less personified).
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 271 Kuynde wit me tauȝte Þat Resun schal regne and Reames gouerne. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 113 Thus the Sonne is overal The chiefe Planete..And thus betwen hem regneth he. 1553 Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 143 b, The Masse rained, ruled, ruffled, and triumphed, as a moste puissant and myghty Queene. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 649 Where loue raignes, disturbing iealousie Doth call him selfe affection's centinell. 1637 Milton Comus 334 Disinherit Chaos, that raigns here In double night. 1667 ― P.L. iv. 765 Here Love his golden shaft imploies,..Reigns here and revels. 1782 Cowper Lily & Rose vii, The seat of empire is her cheeks, They reign united there. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam v. Song vi, While Truth with Joy enthroned o'er his lost empire reigns! 1871 B. Taylor Faust 2nd Pt. i. i, While..Reigns in pomp the perfect moon. |
2. Of persons: To exercise authority of any kind; to hold sway; to rule.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 28526 At wrestelyng, at wake, rengd haf i. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 35 Alle þis Riche Retenaunce þat Regneden with Fals. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. iv. 299 Than schulde no preest haue immouable godis in lordschip. Forwhi thanne he muste nedis comaunde and regne upon hise tenauntis. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 1144 The Scottis at large out throu all Fyff thai rang. 1556 Lauder Tractate 374 Quhat plagis..Sall fall wpon the realmes and kyngis Quharin no faithfull Iugis ryngis. 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. 127 He did in the general bosom reign Of young, of old. 1640 Bp. Hall Episc. i. §16. 67 Saint Paul was the same..that he was raigning in the Pulpit, or disputing in the Schoole of Tyrannus. 1671 Milton P.R. ii. 466 Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules Passions, Desires, and Fears, is more a King. 1819 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 10 Me..Hast thou made reign and triumph..O'er mine own misery. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 764 [He saw] him, that other, reigning in his place. |
| transf. c 1374 Chaucer Compl. Mars 43 Who reigneth now in blisse but Venus, That hath this worthy Knyght in gouernaunce? 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xlviii. 33 Lord Eolus dois in thy sessone ring. 1784 Cowper Task i. 455 The spleen is seldom felt where Flora reigns. |
† b. To go on or continue in some state or course of action. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 68 Also generaly prelatis regnen in symonye. 1442 Cursor M. 48 (Bedford MS.), Insampil to hem I may say Þat regneþ in her reaut all way. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 1359 Than rang I furth in cruell wer and payn. 1556 Lauder Tractate 184 The Liegis of the vngodlie kyng In daylie trubbyll thay sall ryng. |
† c. To flourish. Obs. rare.
| ? a 1450 Compend. Old Treat. in Roy Rede me (Arb.) 175 This Bede reygned in the yere off oure lorde god .vij. hundred and xxxij. 1450–80 tr. Secreta Secret. 38 In the tyme of this ffysnomyas reynyd the..doctour ypocras. |
† d. To flourish in some respect. Obs. rare—1.
| 1546 tr. Gasser's Prognost. d vj, Yet shal thei reigne in large benefites and great renoume. |
3. Of things (chiefly immaterial things): To have power, sway, or predominance; to prevail or be prevalent. a. of qualities, conditions, etc.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter ix. 40 When antecrist is distroid all goed sall regne þare in. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5793 For if..good love regned over-alle, Such wikkidnesse ne shulde falle. c 1440 Gesta Rom. i. xlvii. 196 (Harl. MS.), Wher so euer he knewe þat eny discorde or vnrest was Regnynge. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxix. 44 Wirk for the place of paradyce, For thairin ringis no covettyce. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. ii. 15 Lord, Lord: to see what folly raignes in vs. 1616 R. C. Times' Whistle iv. 1202 Insatiate Avarice then first began To raigne in the depraved minde of man. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 101 Letters are in no vogue in that Country, and perfound Ignorance reigns among them. 1705 Addison Italy (1733) 63 The great Secrecy that reigns in their public Councils. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 239 To kinder skies, where gentler manners reign, I turn. 1818 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. v. 552 Dissension, improvidence, and pusillanimity reigned at Madras. 1871 Jowett Plato IV. 35 The business of the legislator is to clear up this..confusion which reigns in the minds of men. |
b. of the planets, winds, seasons, etc.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxi. (Clement) 389 Thru þe playnyt þat regnyt þan hyre worthit be ane Il wemane. 1579 E. K. Gloss. in Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Nov. 16 The sonne reigneth, that is, in the signe Pisces. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. iv. 43 Twenty of the Dog-dayes now reigne in's Nose. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII (1876) 108 Now did the sign reign, and the constellation was come, under which Perkin should appear. 1662 J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 117 The South and Southwest winds reign here [Meliapour] from April to September. 1704 Pope Summer 22 In thy heart eternal winter reigns. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 175 The land winds reign all night. 1821 Shelley I would not be a King, The path to power is steep and rough, And tempests reign above. |
c. of diseases, troubles, etc.
| 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 244 Somyr is hote and dry, and therfor than regnyth reede colere. 1483 Caxton Cato C ij, In that tyme..reygned a grete pestylence. 1513 Douglas æneis x. xiii. 12 Sik distres rang amang mortale wychtis. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 96 A Feuer she Raignes in my bloud, and will remembred be. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 270 The foule disease of lust, raigning in those parts. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 246 To shun this Ill,..In Summer's Sultry Heats (for then it reigns). 1845 Carlyle Cromwell (1871) II. 179 Famine has long reigned. |
† 4. a. Of a class or kind of persons: To prevail, to be numerous. Obs. rare.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2124 It hatt Europe quar mast to day Regns o þe cristen lay. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 126 They [the Anabaptists] also reigne chiefly in those places, wher the doctrine of the Gospell is prohibited. |
† b. To range, extend. Obs. rare—1.
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxiii. 381 Ich wol by-come a pilgryme, And wenden as wide as the worlde regneþ. |
† c. Of an inanimate thing: To last. Obs.—1
| 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 132 A Ship doth commonly Reign about thirty years. |
5. To hold a dominant position; to be in the majority.
| 1715 Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) I. 94 There might reign a cornice the whole length of it on each side. 1885 Fortn. in Waggonette 35 The bank on one side is thickly wooded, the firs chiefly reigning. |
6. trans. † a. To rule, govern (a person, etc.).
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus ii. 379 Swich love of freendes regneth al this toun. |
b. To put down by reigning. rare—1.
| 1819 Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. iv. 100 But who reigns down Evil, the immedicable plague? |
† c. To live out (a specified number of years) as ruler. Obs. rare—1.
| a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 136 When he had reigned out forty yeares, he died in winter. |
▪ III. reign
variant of raign v. Obs.