Regnum (regnum, -i, n.) is a second-declension neuter noun meaning 'kingdom,' 'kingship,' or 'royal power.' On the AP Latin syllabus it shows up in both Caesar's Gallic War (chieftains scheming for sole rule) and Vergil's Aeneid (the kingdoms gods and heroes fight over).
Regnum is one of those Latin words that looks simple and isn't. Its core meaning is 'kingdom' or 'realm,' a territory ruled by one person. But it also means the abstract thing itself, 'kingship' or 'royal power.' When Caesar says a Gallic chieftain was driven by cupiditate regni, he doesn't mean the guy wanted a plot of land. He means the guy wanted to be king, to hold sole power over his tribe. That second meaning carried a sting for Romans, who had thrown out their kings centuries earlier and treated the ambition for regnum as the ultimate political crime.
Grammatically, regnum is a second-declension neuter noun (regnum, -i, n.). That neuter detail matters more than it sounds. Neuter nouns have identical nominative and accusative forms, so when you hit regnum in a sentence, the ending alone won't tell you if it's the subject or the object. You have to use word order, the verb, and context to decide, which is exactly the skill the CED targets when it asks you to describe how grammar contributes to meaning in context.
Regnum sits squarely in Unit 1 (Suggested Practice – Latin Prose) and connects to Topic 1.22, where the Aeneid's epic machinery runs on contested kingdoms. It supports three learning objectives directly. AP Latin 1.22.A requires you to know the meanings of required vocabulary, and regnum is core syllabus vocabulary. AP Latin 1.22.B is about polysemous words, and regnum is a textbook polysemous word, since 'kingdom' (place) and 'kingship' (power) are different translations and the context picks one. AP Latin 1.22.C asks how case and number shape meaning, and regnum's ambiguous neuter endings make it a perfect test case. Thematically, regnum is also a throughline of the whole course. Caesar's Gauls plot for regnum, Juno fights to protect her favored regnum at Carthage, and Aeneas sails toward a regnum that doesn't exist yet.
Keep studying AP Latin Unit 1
Imperium (Unit 1)
Imperium is the power to command, the authority a Roman magistrate or general legally holds. Regnum is one-man royal rule. A Roman could proudly hold imperium but would be killed for seeking regnum. Keeping these two apart sharpens both your translations and your understanding of why Caesar frames Gallic politics the way he does.
Dux (Unit 1)
A dux is a leader or commander, the person who might hold or seize a regnum. In the Gallic War, ambitious duces like Orgetorix scheme for regnum over their tribes, so the two words often appear in the same political storyline.
Foundation legend (Unit 1, Topic 1.22)
The Aeneid is the foundation legend of Rome, and the whole epic is a quest for a future regnum. Juno rages because fate says Aeneas's descendants will destroy her beloved Carthaginian regnum. When you see regnum in Vergil, it usually carries this fated, destiny-laden weight.
Tribe (Unit 1)
In Caesar, regnum is usually rule over a tribe, not a mapped nation-state. Gallic tribes were led by councils and magistrates, so a chieftain grabbing regnum meant overturning his tribe's normal power structure. That's why Caesar treats it as scandalous and destabilizing.
Regnum is on the required vocabulary list, so you're expected to translate it accurately without a gloss. In translation FRQs, the graders care whether you picked the right sense. Translating cupiditate regni as 'desire for a kingdom' when the context means 'desire for kingship' costs you, because that's exactly the polysemy AP Latin 1.22.B tests. In multiple-choice and short-answer questions, expect to identify the case and function of regnum in a sentence, which means working around its identical nominative and accusative forms. No released FRQ has hinged on the word regnum by itself, but it appears throughout the syllabus passages, so it can surface anywhere a Caesar or Vergil excerpt does.
Both translate loosely as 'power,' but they're politically opposite in Roman eyes. Imperium is legitimate, granted authority to command (a consul or general holds imperium for a term). Regnum is permanent one-man royal rule, the thing the Roman Republic was founded by rejecting. So accusing someone of seeking regnum was a deadly insult, while holding imperium was an honor. On the exam, translate imperium as 'command' or 'authority' and regnum as 'kingdom' or 'kingship,' and don't swap them.
Regnum (regnum, -i, n.) is a second-declension neuter noun meaning 'kingdom,' 'realm,' or 'kingship,' and it's on the required AP Latin vocabulary list.
Regnum is polysemous. It can mean a physical territory (a kingdom) or the abstract power of a king (kingship), and context decides which translation is right.
Because regnum is neuter, its nominative and accusative forms are identical, so you must use the verb and word order to figure out its function in the sentence.
In Caesar's Gallic War, regnum usually means sole rule over a tribe, and chieftains who scheme for it are portrayed as dangerous and destabilizing.
In Vergil's Aeneid, regnum carries epic weight. Juno defends her favored Carthaginian regnum while fate promises Aeneas a new one in Italy.
Don't confuse regnum with imperium. Imperium is legitimate granted authority; regnum is royal one-man rule, which Romans of the Republic treated as a political crime.
Regnum (regnum, -i, n.) means 'kingdom,' 'realm,' or 'kingship.' It's a second-declension neuter noun on the required vocabulary list, and it can refer either to a ruled territory or to royal power itself.
Imperium is legitimate authority to command, like the power a consul or general holds for a set term. Regnum is permanent one-man royal rule. Romans honored imperium but treated the pursuit of regnum as treasonous, since the Republic was founded by expelling kings.
No. Regnum often means 'kingship' or 'royal power' rather than a physical territory. In Caesar's phrase cupiditate regni inductus, a chieftain is driven by desire for kingship, not desire for land. Picking the right sense from context is exactly what learning objective AP Latin 1.22.B tests.
You can't tell from the ending, because neuter nouns have identical nominative and accusative forms. Look at the verb, word order, and surrounding context to determine whether regnum is the subject or the object of the sentence.
In both halves of the syllabus. In Caesar's Gallic War, ambitious Gallic leaders like Orgetorix scheme for regnum over their tribes. In Vergil's Aeneid, Juno fights to protect Carthage as a future regnum while fate promises Aeneas a kingdom in Italy.
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