regulum

Regulum is a Latin noun derived from regula, with the diminutive suffix -ulum, yielding the sense “a small rule” or “a short regulation.” In medieval and early modern Latin, regulum appears infrequently and is typically used to denote a concise rule, guideline, or brief instruction within a larger collection of laws, scholastic rules, or liturgical directions.

The term is most often encountered in manuscript glosses, marginal notes, or embedded within legal, religious, or educational texts to signal a compact directive. Because regulum is sparsely attested, its exact nuance can vary by author and context, and it does not correspond to a single standardized definition across sources. In practice, it functions as a marker for a brief procedural step or a minimal rule that complements a broader rule set.

Today regulum is primarily of interest to philologists, historians of Latin, and scholars studying medieval regulatory language. It is largely obsolete outside such scholarly contexts and is not a widely used technical term in contemporary disciplines. When encountered, it is typically treated as an archaic lexical item illustrating diminutive formation from regula rather than as a term with broad or modern application.

See also: regula, regulus. These related terms reflect the broader family of Latin words connected to rules, regulations, and diminutive forms, highlighting how early Latin conveyed compact directives within larger normative systems.