royalty

[roi-uhl-tee]

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.

royalty

/ 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

royalty

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.

Other Word Forms

• nonroyalty noun
• preroyalty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of royalty¹

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

Example Sentences

Apple fits the strategy of engaging a wider number of media platforms and looking for different ways of presenting royalty globally.

From BBC

But Prince William does mention his brother when asked about his experience of royalty growing up with the intense scrutiny his mother and father faced.

From BBC

Celebrated for decades as Hollywood royalty, Jane Fonda could easily be living a comfortable life of extravagance and leisure.

From Los Angeles Times

US business royalty sat down with UK royalty and served up a £150 billon investment into the UK over the coming years.

From BBC

They believe the fortress, which was built across two small islands in a loch at Finlaggan on Islay, belonged to royalty more than 700 years ago.

From BBC

Related Words

• fee 
• payment 
• percentage 
• portion 
• share