régule

Régule is a French verb form meaning to regulate, control, or adjust in order to maintain a desired state or parameter. It is the third-person singular present indicative of the verb réguler, and thus translates as “he regulates” or “she regulates” (also used in formal writing to mean “you regulate” when addressing someone respectfully). The verb réguler belongs to regular -er verbs, with standard conjugation patterns in most tenses.

Etymology and usage notes: Réguler derives from Latin regulare, from regula meaning a rule or ruler. In everyday French it is used to describe deliberate or automatic control of variables such as temperature, speed, price, or physiological parameters. It can refer to human action or to mechanical, electronic, or biological systems that keep values within set limits.

Conjugation highlights: Present tense forms include je régule, tu régules, il régule, nous régulons, vous régulez, ils régulent. The imperative forms are régule (tu), régulons (nous), régulez (vous). The past composite is il a régulé. As with many French verbs, context determines whether régule refers to a person regulating something or a system performing regulation.

Related terms: The noun forms most often used are régulation (the act or process of regulating) and régulateur (a regulator or regulating device). In technical writing, régulateur is common for devices that provide regulation, while réguler and régulation describe the action and its general principle.

See also: régulation, régulateur, réguler.