The word 规定 is formed through the semantic combination of its two component characters: 规 (guī), which originally means a compass for drawing circles and by extension signifies a rule, standard, or norm, and 定 (dìng), which means to fix, set, or decide. Together, they fuse these concepts to mean "to set a rule" or "to stipulate", where the action of 定 (fixing) is applied to the concept of 规 (a standard), creating the sense of formally establishing or laying down regulations.