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

• nonroyalty
  noun
• preroyalty
  noun

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

Zinedine Zidane is Champions League royalty, as a player and a coach.

From BBC • May 28, 2026

Like any monarchy, the Magic Kingdom has its royalty and its serfs.

From Slate • May 26, 2026

Busch’s most famous public feud was with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the scion of racing royalty and Busch’s on-track nemesis.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

EagleRock doesn’t extract the oil and gas under its land, but it makes money from the companies that drill for it, by charging them leasing and royalty fees.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

He must be a king or some other royalty in disguise.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

Related Words

• fee
• payment
• percentage
• portion
• share