royalty

American  

[roi-uhl-tee] / ˈrɔɪ əl ti /

noun

royalties plural

1. royal persons collectively.

2. royal status, dignity, or power; sovereignty.

   to be elevated to royalty.

3. a person of royal lineage; member of a royal family.

4. Archaic. royalties, prerogatives, rights, or symbolic emblems of a king, queen, or other sovereign.

5. a royal domain; kingdom; realm.

6. character or quality proper to or befitting a sovereign; nobility.

7. the most well-known and admired member or members of a particular field or category.

   Her parents are Hollywood royalty. The brand is royalty among champagnes.

8. a compensation or portion of the proceeds paid to the owner of a right, as a patent or oil or mineral right, for the use of it.

9. an agreed portion of the income from a work paid to its author, composer, etc., usually a percentage of the retail price of each copy sold.

10. a royal right, as over minerals, granted by a sovereign to a person or corporation.

11. the payment made for such a right.

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royalty British  

/ ˈrɔɪəltɪ /

noun

1. the rank, power, or position of a king or queen

2. 1. royal persons collectively

   2. one who belongs to the royal family

3. any quality characteristic of a monarch; kingliness or regal dignity

4. a percentage of the revenue from the sale of a book, performance of a theatrical work, use of a patented invention or of land, etc, paid to the author, inventor, or proprietor

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royalty Cultural  

1. A payment made for some right or privilege, as when a publisher pays a royalty to an author for the author's granting the publisher the right to sell the author's book.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preroyalty
  noun
• nonroyalty
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• royalties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of royalty

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English roialte, from Middle French, Old French roialté, derivative of roial; see origin at royal, -ty ²

Explanation

Royalty is a good word for describing a family of kings, queens, princes, and princesses. If you are in the music business, you may expect a payment, or royalty every time your song is played. How's that for royal treatment? The noun royalty means a group of royals, or kings and their extended families. Queen Elizabeth of England is a member of Britain's royalty, for example. You can also use royalty to describe the payment a writer receives whenever her book is sold, or that a musician gets when his song is played in a grocery store. The word comes from the Latin regalis, "regal," which in turn comes from rex, "king."

Example Sentences

Rock royalty is gearing up to descend on Donington Park for the 23rd Download festival.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

A legal settlement allowed Burke to sell merchandise with the marathon’s branding for an expected profit in the millions, as long as he also paid a royalty to the city.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026

Vicor’s royalty revenue totaled $15 million in the first quarter, and analysts had expected it to rise slightly to $16 million in the second quarter, according to FactSet.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

Amplitude is buying Artisan from Beach Energy for A$58.3 million upfront and a production royalty.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

The principle pleasure of these audiences, says Dr. Trefusis, lies in referring to royalty without either revealing or denying the closeness of his connection, viz.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• fee
• payment
• percentage
• portion
• share