regulator (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict[regulator 词源字典]
1650s, agent noun in Latin form from regulate. In English history, from 1680s; in American history, from 1767, applied to local posses that kept order (or disturbed it) in rural regions. As a mechanical device or clock used to set the time of other pieces, from 1758.[regulator etymology, regulator origin, 英语词源]