Definition of "regency" [re•gen•cy]

• A person or group selected to govern in place of a monarch or other ruler who is absent, disabled, or still in minority. (noun)
• The period during which a regent governs. (noun)
• The office, area of jurisdiction, or government of regents or a regent. (noun)
• Of, relating to, or characteristic of the style, especially in furniture, prevalent in England during the regency (1811-1820) of George, Prince of Wales (later George IV). (adjective)
• Of, relating to, or characteristic of the style prevalent in France during the regency (1715-1723) of Philippe, Duc d'Orléans (1674-1723). (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Thus Tzu Hsi began her third regency, if you can use the word regency for assuming the full rights of government."
• "I suppose it depends on the type of book - in regency stories, for example, ball gowns and well tied cravats are part of the scene setting."
• "His regency was a time of greed, pretension, and too sudden wealth."