# Regina: Rhymes with? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366 "2018-08-27T16:09:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sloe\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/21 "2018-08-28T02:45:27Z")
Rhymes with “Ameena.” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/22 "2018-08-28T03:52:48Z")
“Regina” is the feminine of “rex”. Note that _both_ the “e” and the “i” are long ! ETA I don’t know if there is an exact rhyme in English. “Nina” is reasonably close. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/23 "2018-08-28T03:53:04Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > It’s not the kind of term that occurs much in newscasts. And it should be noted that in many contexts where “Regina” is written, “the Queen” or “the Crown” is spoken… Huh. Curioser and curiouser. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/24 "2018-08-28T03:56:09Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > … > > ETA: I checked Dryden and came up empty. Nice research task, however. I’m sure I’ve seen it in an ode, or maybe a madrgal… > > > [@gkster](#): > > > > … one of the Latin titles for the Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven,“Regina Caeli” :smack: I got hung up on secular royalty. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/25 "2018-08-28T04:31:35Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > **Northern Piper** ’s location field used to actually say “Rhymes with vagina”. So, did he move, or is he just taking a break? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/26 "2018-08-28T04:48:57Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Not “Leveeosa” > “LeveeoSAH”🙂 _claps_ ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/27 "2018-08-28T07:09:19Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > “Regina” is the feminine of “rex”. Note that _both_ the “e” and the “i” are long ! > > ETA I don’t know if there is an exact rhyme in English. “Nina” is reasonably close. Not a long “e” — > [@](#): > > Regina (/rɪˈdʒaɪnə/) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. (Wiki) So, Jemima. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/28 "2018-08-28T07:35:05Z")
I get that all the vowels and consonants (except possibly the “r” and the “n”) are altered in the Canadian pronunciation; that is merely a good example to add to the recent Latin-first-and-also-all-other-declension-nouns-are-converted-into-English-in-multiple-inconsistent-but-in-any-case-not-classical-ways thread. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/29 "2018-08-28T08:02:14Z")
If you’re giving this word a latinate pronounciation, then it’s “ray-ghee-nah”. On the other hand, if you’re anglicising the pronunication, as is standard in British English, then it’s “r’jine-ah”. The denizens of the eponymous Canadian city, I believe, also use this pronunciation. I’m not aware of any variant of English in which the first syllable is pronounced “ree-”. There may be people who have this as a personal name, and who use this pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/30 "2018-08-28T08:25:49Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Well, another rhyming word is Jemima, as in Aunt. Only if you consider /a͡ɪnə/ and /a͡ɪmə/ (“-ina” and “-ima”) to rhyme. This isn’t usually the case in English, but you can get away with it in some literary forms, such as [rock lyrics](http://www.stanford.edu/~zwicky/this-rock-and-roll.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/31 "2018-08-28T10:50:30Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > If you’re giving this word a latinate pronounciation, then it’s “ray-ghee-nah”. [Pretty sure](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/regina#Pronunciation) it’s actually “reh-ghee-nah” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/32 "2018-08-28T11:17:09Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > [Pretty sure](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/regina#Pronunciation) it’s actually “reh-ghee-nah” It’s in between. English lacks a mid “e,” so we have no way to write its pronunciation exactly. It’s basically our “ay” (as in “say”) without the “ee” at the end, but this is equally close to our “eh.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/33 "2018-08-28T16:20:18Z")
How Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/34 "2018-08-29T12:17:01Z")
\*When I got back home I found a message on the door Sweet Regina’s gone to China cross legged on the floor \* ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/35 "2018-08-29T13:22:20Z")
Don’t forget “Righteous Regius” Philbin. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/36 "2018-08-29T16:11:24Z")
Eh ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/37 "2018-08-29T17:55:18Z")
I thought, re Regius, re? Sally? Anyone? ETA: And not re as in “_in re_.” ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/38 "2018-08-29T18:23:13Z")
In a way, it rhymes with “clown”. Why is that so? Because, as others have noted, the word means “queen” in Latin; its male counterpart is _rex_, meaning “king”. In the Commonwealth kingdoms, it is customary in legal terminology to use _R_ (which can stand for either _Rex_ or _Regina_, depending on the sex of the current monarch) when writing case names in criminal cases in order to refer to the prosecution. A criminal case could, for instance, be _R v Doe_ if John Doe is the defendant, much as in America, you’d say _United States v. Doe_ in federal cases or _(The People of the) State of Whatever v. Doe_ in state cases (note, too, the differences in punctuation after _versus_). Even though the _R_ stands for _Rex_ or _Regina_, it is, when reading out the case name aloud, usually read as _The Crown_. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/39 "2018-08-29T18:31:02Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > In a way, it rhymes with “clown”… 🙂 Great “Huh?” lead in to a post. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366/40 "2018-08-29T18:34:54Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > If you’re giving this word a latinate pronounciation, then it’s “ray-ghee-nah”… NB for this thread, this is the first/only exception stated to the consonant. Just thought I’d mention that, and ask anyone about that who’s into current Papal Latin pronunciation vs presumed back-then Roman pronunciation. (Ignoring traditions in sung Latin, eg the famous “excelsis.”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regina-rhymes-with/820366.md?page=3)