regale

See also: Regale, régalé, régale, and regalé

English

WOTD – 30 May 2007

Etymology

From French régaler (“to entertain, feast”), from Old French regale, rigale, from gale (“merriment”), probably of Germanic origin (see Old French galer). Influenced by Old French se rigoler (“amuse oneself, rejoice”), of unknown origin. Compare Middle High German begalen (“to charm; enchant”), English gale (“to sing; charm”). Compare also English gala.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈɡeɪl/, /ɹəˈɡeɪl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪl

Noun

regale (plural regales)

1. (rare) A feast, a meal.
   • 1791, Homer, W[illiam] Cowper, transl., “[The Odyssey.] Book I.”, in The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse, […], volume II, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 9, lines 172 and 174–177:

     And now a maiden […] ſupplied them, next, / With a reſplendent table, which the chaſte / Directreſs of the ſtores furniſh'd with bread / And dainties, remnants of the laſt regale.

   • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 136:

     The noise from the servants' hall was rendered more acutely painful by her headach; for her aunt, partly with a view of annoying her niece, whom she disliked—as we always dislike those we have used ill—had left orders for a general regale.

2. (archaic) a choice article of food or drink.
3. (archaic) refreshment.

Translations

feast, meal — see feast,‎ meal

Verb

regale (third-person singular simple present regales, present participle regaling, simple past and past participle regaled)

1. (transitive) To please or entertain (someone). [from 17th c.]
   • 2014 June 26, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club‎^[1], archived from the original on 7 December 2017:

     You’ve Got Mail is certainly the basic model for the plot, which finds corporate candy shill Joel ([Paul] Rudd) and indie-sweetshop owner Molly ([Amy] Poehler) regaling their dinner companions with the very long, digressive story of how they met and fell in love.

2. (transitive) To provide hospitality for (someone); to supply with abundant food and drink. [from 17th c.]
3. (obsolete, intransitive) To feast (on, with something). [17th–19th c.]
   • 1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury, section V:

     she hardly lets a Week pass without making the Lady Abbess and her Nuns a Visit, to regale with a Cup of burnt Brandy.

4. (figurative, transitive) To entertain with something that delights; to gratify; to refresh.

   to regale the taste, the eye, or the ear

Translations

to please someone with entertainment

• Bulgarian: забавлявам (bg) (zabavljavam)
• French: régaler (fr)
• German: ergötzen (de)
• Italian: dilettare (it)
• Maori: whakangahau, whakaharakoa, whakarekareka
• Russian: весели́ть (ru) impf (veselítʹ), развлека́ть (ru) impf (razvlekátʹ)
• Spanish: regalar (es)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} zevk-ü sefa içinde yaşamak

to provide a meal and entertainment

• Aromanian: filipsescu, uspitedz
• Bulgarian: угощавам (bg) (ugoštavam)
• Dutch: onthalen (nl)
• French: régaler (fr)
• German: festlich bewirten
• Maori: taurima
• Romanian: ospăta (ro)
• Russian: угоща́ть (ru) impf (ugoščátʹ), по́тчевать (ru) impf (pótčevatʹ)
• Spanish: regalar (es)
• Swedish: välfägna
• Turkish: ağarlamak

Anagrams

• Alegre, Eargle, Legare, Reagle, aleger

Galician

Verb

regale

1. inflection of regalar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin rēgālis. Doublet of reale, which came via Old French.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reˈɡa.le/
• Rhymes: -ale
• Hyphenation: re‧gà‧le

Adjective

regale (plural regali)

1. pertaining to a king or kingdom; royal, regal

Related terms

• re
• regalismo
• regalità
• regalmente

Further reading

• regale1 in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• algere, galere, gelare, gelerà, legare, relega

Latin

Adjective

rēgāle

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of rēgālis

References

• regale in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɛˈɡa.lɛ/
• Rhymes: -alɛ
• Syllabification: re‧ga‧le

Noun

regale m

1. locative singular of regał
2. vocative singular of regał

Portuguese

Verb

regale

1. inflection of regalar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Verb

regale

1. inflection of regalar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative
2. second-person singular voseo imperative of regar combined with le