Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Rule \Rule\, n. [OE. reule, riule, OF. riule, reule, F.
   r['e]gle, fr. L. regula a ruler, rule, model, fr. regere,
   rectum, to lead straight, to direct. See {Right}, a., and cf.
   {Regular}.]
   1. That which is prescribed or laid down as a guide for
      conduct or action; a governing direction for a specific
      purpose; an authoritative enactment; a regulation; a
      prescription; a precept; as, the rules of various
      societies; the rules governing a school; a rule of
      etiquette or propriety; the rules of cricket.

            We profess to have embraced a religion which
            contains the most exact rules for the government of
            our lives.                            --Tillotson.

   2. Hence:
      (a) Uniform or established course of things.

                'T is against the rule of nature. --Shak.
      (b) Systematic method or practice; as, my ule is to rise
          at six o'clock.
      (c) Ordibary course of procedure; usual way; comon state
          or condition of things; as, it is a rule to which
          there are many exeptions.
      (d) Conduct in general; behavior. [Obs.]

                This uncivil rule; she shall know of it. --Shak.

   3. The act of ruling; administration of law; government;
      empire; authority; control.

            Obey them that have the rule over you. --Heb. xiii.
                                                  17.

            His stern rule the groaning land obeyed. --Pope.

   4. (Law) An order regulating the practice of the courts, or
      an order made between parties to an action or a suit.
      --Wharton.

   5. (Math.) A determinate method prescribed for performing any
      operation and producing a certain result; as, a rule for
      extracting the cube root.

   6. (Gram.) A general principle concerning the formation or
      use of words, or a concise statement thereof; thus, it is
      a rule in England, that s or es, added to a noun in the
      singular number, forms the plural of that noun; but
      ``man'' forms its plural ``men'', and is an exception to
      the rule.

   7.
      (a) A straight strip of wood, metal, or the like, which
          serves as a guide in drawing a straight line; a ruler.
      (b) A measuring instrument consisting of a graduated bar
          of wood, ivory, metal, or the like, which is usually
          marked so as to show inches and fractions of an inch,
          and jointed so that it may be folded compactly.

                A judicious artist will use his eye, but he will
                trust only to his rule.           --South.

   8. (Print.)
      (a) A thin plate of metal (usually brass) of the same
          height as the type, and used for printing lines, as
          between columns on the same page, or in tabular work.
      (b) A composing rule. See under {Conposing}.

   {As a rule}, as a general thing; in the main; usually; as, he
      behaves well, as a rule.

   {Board rule}, {Caliber rule}, etc. See under {Board},
      {Caliber}, etc.

   {Rule joint}, a knuckle joint having shoulders that abut when
      the connected pieces come in line with each other, and
      thus permit folding in one direction only.

   {Rule of three} (Arith.), that rule which directs, when three
      terms are given, how to find a fourth, which shall have
      the same ratio to the third term as the second has to the
      first; proportion. See {Proportion}, 5
      (b) .

   {Rule of thumb}, any rude process or operation, like that of
      using the thumb as a rule in measuring; hence, judgment
      and practical experience as distinguished from scientific
      knowledge.

   Syn: regulation; law; precept; maxim; guide; canon; order;
        method; direction; control; government; sway; empire.

Rule \Rule\, v. i.
   1. To have power or command; to exercise supreme authority;
      -- often followed by over.

            By me princes rule, and nobles.       --Prov. viii.
                                                  16.

            We subdue and rule over all other creatures. --Ray.

   2. (Law) To lay down and settle a rule or order of court; to
      decide an incidental point; to enter a rule. --Burril.
      Bouvier.

   3. (Com.) To keep within a (certain) range for a time; to be
      in general, or as a rule; as, prices ruled lower yesterday
      than the day before.

Rule \Rule\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ruled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Ruling}.] [Cf. OF. riuler, ruiler, L. regulare. See {Rule},
   n., and cf. {Regulate}.]
   1. To control the will and actions of; to exercise authority
      or dominion over; to govern; to manage. --Chaucer.

            A bishop then must be blameless; . . . one that
            ruleth well his own house, having his children in
            subjection.                           --1 Tim. iii.
                                                  2, 4.

   2. To control or direct by influence, counsel, or persuasion;
      to guide; -- used chiefly in the passive.

            I think she will be ruled In all respects by me.
                                                  --Shak.

   3. To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by
      universal or general consent, or by common practice.

            That's are ruled case with the schoolmen.
                                                  --Atterbury.

   4. (Law) To require or command by rule; to give as a
      direction or order of court.

   5. To mark with lines made with a pen, pencil, etc., guided
      by a rule or ruler; to print or mark with lines by means
      of a rule or other contrivance effecting a similar result;
      as, to rule a sheet of paper of a blank book.

   {Ruled surface} (Geom.), any surface that may be described by
      a straight line moving according to a given law; -- called
      also a {scroll}.

Rule \Rule\, n.

   {Rule of the road} (Law), any of the various regulations
      imposed upon travelers by land or water for their mutual
      convenience or safety. In the United States it is a rule
      of the road that land travelers passing in opposite
      directions shall turn out each to his own right, and
      generally that overtaking persons or vehicles shall turn
      out to the left; in England the rule for vehicles (but not
      for pedestrians) is the opposite of this. Run \Run\, n.
   1. (Piquet, Cribbage, etc.) A number of cards of the same
      suit in sequence; as, a run of four in hearts.

   2. (Golf)
      (a) The movement communicated to a golf ball by running.
      (b) The distance a ball travels after touching the ground
          from a stroke.

Source : WordNet®

rule
     n 1: a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior;
          "it was his rule to take a walk before breakfast";
          "short haircuts were the regulation" [syn: {regulation}]
     2: something regarded as a normative example; "the convention
        of not naming the main character"; "violence is the rule
        not the exception"; "his formula for impressing visitors"
        [syn: {convention}, {normal}, {pattern}, {formula}]
     3: prescribed guide for conduct or action [syn: {prescript}]
     4: (linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a
        linguistic practice [syn: {linguistic rule}]
     5: a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can
        be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct; "their
        principles of composition characterized all their works"
        [syn: {principle}]
     6: a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the
        function of a complex system; "the principle of the
        conservation of mass"; "the principle of jet propulsion";
        "the right-hand rule for inductive fields" [syn: {principle}]
     7: the duration of a monarch's or government's power; "during
        the rule of Elizabeth"
     8: dominance or power through legal authority; "France held
        undisputed dominion over vast areas of Africa"; "the rule
        of Caesar" [syn: {dominion}]
     9: directions that define the way a game or sport is to be
        conducted; "he knew the rules of chess"
     10: any one of a systematic body of regulations defining the way
         of life of members of a religious order; "the rule of St.
         Dominic"
     11: (mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of
         mathematical problems; "he determined the upper bound
         with Descartes' rule of signs"; "he gave us a general
         formula for attacking polynomials" [syn: {formula}]
     12: measuring stick consisting of a strip of wood or metal or
         plastic with a straight edge that is used for drawing
         straight lines and measuring lengths [syn: {ruler}]

rule
     v 1: exercise authority over; as of nations; "Who is governing
          the country now?" [syn: {govern}]
     2: decide with authority; "The King decreed that all first-born
        males should be killed" [syn: {decree}]
     3: be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance;
        "Money reigns supreme here"; "Hispanics predominate in
        this neighborhood" [syn: {predominate}, {dominate}, {reign},
         {prevail}]
     4: decide on and make a declaration about; "find someone
        guilty" [syn: {find}]
     5: have an affinity with; of signs of the zodiac
     6: mark or draw with a ruler; "rule the margins"
     7: keep in check; "rule one's temper" [syn: {harness}, {rein}]