deregulated
UK[ˌdiːˈrɛɡjʊleɪtɪd]US[ˌdiːˈrɛɡjʊleɪtɪd]
adj
(of a business, industry, or system) freed from government rules and controls.
v
(past tense and past participle of deregulate) to remove government rules and controls from a business, industry, or system.
Morpheme Breakdown
de
regulate
ed
de
remove
regulate
control by rules
ed
adjective/verb suffix
Etymology
the word 'deregulated' is built upon the core verb 'regulate,' which originates from the latin regula, meaning a straight piece of wood, a ruler, or a pattern. this, in turn, derives from the proto-indo-european root \reg-, meaning "to move in a straight line," which metaphorically extended to concepts of directing, ruling, and controlling. the prefix 'de-,' of latin origin, is attached to indicate reversal or removal, thus creating the sense of "removing rules or controls." the suffix '-ed' marks it as a past action or a resulting state. therefore, the literal morphemic logic of "removing the state of being ruled straight" evolved into the modern abstract meaning of freeing an entity from governmental or official constraints.
Analysis
Structure: de (remove) + regulate (control by rules) + ed (adjective/verb suffix)
- de: a latin prefix meaning "off, away, down, completely," or indicating removal or reversal.
- regulate: from latin regula (rule) + the verb-forming suffix -ate, meaning to control or direct by rule.
- ed: an old english suffix used to form the past tense and past participle of regular verbs, also used to form adjectives from verbs.
Examples
the airline industry became highly competitive after it was deregulated.
a deregulated market allows for more innovation but also less consumer protection.
the government deregulated the telecommunications sector in the 1990s.