Translation
to treat to a meal, to regale
Word origin
From French régaler, 'to entertain, to feast somebody'. The usual account builds it from an intensifying re- on Old French gale, 'merrymaking, pleasure', the word behind gala.
- Origin
- French
- Root
- régaler
- English cognates
- regale, gala
Other proposed origins
- Some accounts instead connect it to Spanish regalar and Italian regalare, 'to give a present', and the noun regalo, whose own origin is disputed. (regalar)
- An older folk-etymological account tied it to Latin regalis, 'royal', on the idea of treating a guest like a king. Most modern dictionaries treat this as an association that shaped the word's flavour rather than its ancestry. (regalis)
Examples
.
The host treated us to good wine and fresh bread.
.
They laid on a spread for the whole village after the big celebration.
.
After the congress we treated the delegates to dinner.
Rank two thousand, and the language could hardly have picked a better word to end a course on. is what you do to a guest: you feed them, you pour for them, you put on the good bread. It takes per for the thing you provide, so per is I treated him to coffee, and the person is the direct object rather than the food, which is the right way round if you think about who the act is really for. Regalo is the treat itself. Sin is to treat oneself, which is allowed.
It stretches past the table, too, exactly as English regale does. You can a room with music, with a story, with a tune on a bad piano, and the joke is available in Esperanto as much as in English: per opinioj is a complete sentence and a small act of violence.
Do not swap it for trakti. Both come out as treat in English, and they are opposites in tone. is to handle, to deal with, to negotiate: means the doctor dealt with his case. means the hospitable thing. Only one of them involves cake.
Two thousand roots is the whole of ordinary life: everything in this chapter, everything in the nineteen before it, and enough grammar to put any of it in any order you like. It is a decent place to throw a feast. .
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regali: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "regali" (to treat to a meal, to regale): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 40.