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# The Good Oil Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-good-oil-word-of-the-day-633/
- Published: 2026-05-11T18:15:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-11T18:15:54.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: General, Word of the Day

The word for today is…

interregnum (noun) -

1: the time during which a throne is vacant between two successive reigns or regimes  
2: a period during which the normal functions of government or control are suspended  
3: a lapse or pause in a continuous series

Source : [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interregnum?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : Every time a pope dies, there's an interregnum period before a new one is elected by the cardinals. In most democratic systems, however, the law specifies who should take office when a president or prime minister dies unexpectedly, and since the power usually passes automatically, there's no true interregnum. The question of succession—that is, of who should take over when a country's leader dies—has often presented huge problems for countries that lacked a constitution, and in monarchies it hasn't always been clear who should become king or queen when a monarch dies. The interregnum following the death of Edward VI in 1553, for instance, was briefly suspended when Lady Jane Grey was installed as Queen; nine days later she was replaced by Mary Tudor, who sent her straight to the Tower of London.

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