# Regale
## Overview
**Regale** means to entertain someone lavishly — to delight them with stories, food, drink, or spectacle. The word carries connotations of generosity and abundance: one does not merely regale with a snack but with a feast.
## Etymology
From French *régaler* ('to entertain, treat to a feast'), from Old French *regale* ('a feast'). The further etymology is debated between two possibilities:
1. From Spanish *regalar* ('to give as a gift, to entertain'), from *regalo* ('gift, pleasure'), possibly from Latin *regalis* ('royal'), from *rex* ('king') 2. From Old French *re-* + *galer* ('to make merry')
If the royal connection holds, the word means 'to treat royally' — to provide hospitality worthy of a king.
## The Royal Root
If derived from Latin *regalis*, **regale** connects to PIE **\*h₃reǵ-** ('to move in a straight line, to direct, to rule'), one of the most productive roots in Indo-European:
### Through Latin *rex* ('king'): - **Regal**: royal, majestic - **Royal**: from Old French *roial*, from Latin *regalis* - **Reign**: the period of a monarch's rule - **Regent**: one who rules in place of a monarch - **Regime**: a system of government - **Regicide**: the killing of a king
### Through Latin *regula* ('straight stick, rule'): - **Regulate**: to control according to rules - **Regular**: conforming to a standard - **Rule**: from *regula* through French
### Through Latin *regere* ('to direct, guide'): - **Direct**: *di-* + *regere* — to guide apart/away, to straighten out - **Correct**: *com-* + *regere* — to straighten together - **Erect**: *e-* + *regere* — to straighten up - **Rectangle**: *rectus* ('straight') + *angulus* ('angle')
### Through Germanic: - **Right**: from Old English *riht* ('just, straight'), from the same PIE root — what is 'right' is what is 'straight' - **Rich**: possibly from the same root through Celtic — a 'rich' person being one of kingly status
## Usage
Modern English uses **regale** primarily with stories or descriptions: 'She regaled us with tales of her travels.' The food-and-drink sense persists but is less common than the narrative sense. The word always implies that the audience is being generously treated — regaling is an act of abundance.
## Related Forms
The immediate family includes **regale** (verb and, rarely, noun meaning 'a feast'), **regal** (adjective, 'befitting a king'), and **regalia** (noun, 'the ceremonial objects and clothing of royalty'). The phrase 'in full regalia' means 'wearing ceremonial dress.'