royal

[ roi-uhl ]

adjective

1. of or relating to a king, queen, or other sovereign:

   royal power; a royal palace.

2. descended from or related to a king or line of kings:

   a royal prince.

3. noting or having the rank of a king or queen.
4. established or chartered by or existing under the patronage of a sovereign:

   a royal society.

5. (initial capital letter) serving or subject to a king, queen, or other sovereign.
6. proceeding from or performed by a sovereign:

   a royal warrant.

7. appropriate to or befitting a sovereign; magnificent; stately:

   royal splendor.

   Synonyms: majestic

   Antonyms: servile

8. (usually initial capital letter) British. in the service of the monarch or of the Commonwealth:

   Royal Marines; Royal Air Force.

9. fine; excellent:

   in royal spirits.

10. Informal. extreme or persistent; unmitigated:

    a royal nuisance; a royal pain.

noun

1. Nautical. a sail set on a royal mast.
2. Informal. a royal person; member of the royalty.
3. Usually royals. Chiefly British. a member of England's royal family.
4. a size of printing paper, 20 × 25 inches (51 × 64 centimeters).
5. a size of writing paper, 19 × 24 inches (48 × 61 centimeters).
6. Numismatics. any of various former coins, as the real or ryal.

royal

/ ˈrɔɪəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or befitting a king, queen, or other monarch; regal
2. prenominal; often capital established, chartered by, under the patronage or in the service of royalty

   the Royal Society of St George

3. being a member of a royal family
4. above the usual or normal in standing, size, quality, etc
5. informal.
   unusually good or impressive; first-rate
6. nautical just above the topgallant (in the phrase royal mast )

noun

1. informal.
   sometimes capital a member of a royal family
2. Also calledroyal stag a stag with antlers having 12 or more branches
3. nautical a sail set next above the topgallant, on a royal mast
4. a size of printing paper, 20 by 25 inches
5. Also calledsmall royal a size of writing paper, 19 by 24 inches
6. any of various book sizes, esp 6 1 4 by 10 inches ( royal octavo ), 6 3 4 by 10 1 4 inches ( super royal octavo ), and (chiefly Brit) 10 by 12 1 2 inches ( royal quarto ) and 10 1 4 by 13 1 2 inches ( super royal quarto )

Derived Forms

• ˈroyally, adverb

Other Words From

• royal·ly adverb
• anti·royal adjective
• non·royal adjective
• non·royal·ly adverb
• pre·royal adjective
• pre·royal·ly adverb
• pseudo·royal adjective
• pseudo·royal·ly adverb
• quasi-royal adjective
• quasi-royal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of royal¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin rēgālis “kingly,” equivalent to rēg- (stem of rēx ) “king” + -ālis adjective suffix; regal ¹, -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of royal¹

C14: from Old French roial , from Latin rēgālis , fit for a king, from rēx king; compare regal ¹

Synonym Study

See kingly.

Example Sentences

The comedy video and pretend tattoo, which seem a very long way from anything likely to be published by the royal palaces, are intended to grab attention for this winter's Invictus Games.

From BBC

An armed royal protection officer who lied about losing a bullet in the grounds of Buckingham Palace and covered it up for eight days has been sacked.

From BBC

The 15,800-acre Windsor estate, west of London, includes working farms, conservation areas, Windsor Great Park and famous royal landmarks, such as Windsor Castle.

From BBC

Items include his glasses, the piano he practised on, a painting of the star by royal portrait artist Richard Stone, annotated joke books and piles of sketch ideas.

From BBC

The King is continuing to be treated for cancer but wants to keep focusing on his work, royal aides have said.

From BBC

Related Words

• aristocratic
• dignified
• illustrious
• imperial
• magnificent
• noble
• stately