royalty

American  

[roi-uhl-tee] / ˈrɔɪ əl ti /

noun

plural

royalties

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; 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

He said Life Through a Royal Lens was not just about royalty.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

Analyst Adrian Prendergast says Deterra—Australia’s largest-listed mining royalty company—trades at a 32%-46% discount to competitors Franco-Nevada, Wheaton and Royal Gold.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

J&J’s cardiometabolic business is currently dominated by a Xarelto royalty, which Cowen predicts will erode following the drug’s loss of exclusivity, which began in earnest in 2024.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

One of Simpson’s worries relates to the industrywide shortage of dynamic random-access memory chips, which he said could pressure Arm’s royalty business.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

“And you’re to go charm royalty? That seems entirely backward.”

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Related Words

• fee
• payment
• percentage
• portion
• share