Where does “regulator” come from?

Regulator comes from English regulate, from Latin regulatus, the past participle of regulare meaning "to make straight," derived from regula meaning "rule" or "straight rod," ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root h₃reǵ- meaning "to direct or straighten."

regulator (English): A device that controls or limits something; A...

Definitions

  1. A device that controls or limits something; A...

Ancestry of “regulator”, step by step

regulator traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English regulate

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishregulateTo dictate policy; To control or direct according...
2Latinregulatusregulated, having been regulated
3Latinrēgulōto direct, regulate
4Latinrēgularule, bar
5Latin-ularegō + API → rēgula; tegō + API → tēgula;...
6Proto-Indo-European-tlomAlternative form of *-trom
7Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
8Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

via English ‐or

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English‐orCreates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed
2Middle English-our
3Old French-eorAlternative form of -or
4Latin-ator-ator, -er; second-person singular future passive...
5Latin-tor-er
6Proto-Italic-tōrForms agent nouns to verb stems
7Proto-Indo-European-tōrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
8Proto-Indo-European-tor-s

Words derived from “regulator

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗrEvery word from Latin -ulaEvery word from Latin rēgula