'Rule' is Latin for 'to lead straight' — from PIE *reg-. Governance was conceived as imposing order.
To exercise authority or control over; to govern; to make an authoritative legal decision.
From Middle English 'rulen,' borrowed from Old French 'riuler, reuler' (to rule, govern, guide), from Latin 'rēgulāre' (to regulate, direct), from 'rēgula' (straight stick, rule, pattern), from 'regere' (to lead straight, direct, guide, rule), from PIE *h₃reǵ- (to straighten, to direct, to lead). The foundational image is of straightening — a ruler (the measuring instrument) and a ruler (the sovereign) are the same word because both impose straightness, order, and direction on what would otherwise be crooked or chaotic. Key roots: *h₃reǵ- (Proto-Indo-European: "to straighten, to