royal
/ˈɹɔɪ̯.əl/ adjective, noun, proper noun
Forms royaler royaller royalest royallest royals r. roial roiall royall
- adjective Of or relating to a monarch or his (or her) family.
- adjective Having the air or demeanour of a monarch; illustrious; magnanimous; of more than common size or excellence.
- adjective (nautical) In large sailing ships, of a mast right above the topgallant mast and its sails. “royal mast; royal sail”
- adjective (boxing, military) Free-for-all, especially involving multiple combatants.
- adjective (informal) Used as an intensifier. “a royal pain in the neck”
- adjective (chess) Describing a piece which, if captured, results in loss of game. “Maharajah and the Sepoys pits a single royal amazon for white against a standard chess army for black.”
- noun (somewhat informal, often capitalised) A royal person; a member of a royal family.
- noun (paper, printing) A standard size of printing paper, measuring 25 by 20 inches.
- noun (paper) A standard size of writing paper, measuring 24 by 19 inches.
- noun (dated) The Australian decimal currency intended to replace the pound in 1966; was changed to "dollar" before it was actually circulated.
- noun Any of various lycaenid butterflies.
- noun The fourth tine of an antler's beam.
- noun A stag with twelve points (six on each antler).
- noun (nautical, sailing) In large sailing ships, square sail over the topgallant sail.
- proper noun A surname from Old English.
- proper noun A male given name from English from the surname
- noun (soccer) someone connected with Reading Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.
- proper noun A male given name from the word "royal".
- noun (UK, historical) A member of the first regiment of foot in the British army.
Synonyms
kingly monarchical princely queenly regal roy majestic stately imperial sultanic major royal stag purple
Etymology
From Middle English royal, from Old French roial (Modern French royal), from Latin rēgālis, from rēx (“king”). Doublet of regal (“befitting a king”), real (“unit of currency”), ariary, and riyal. Cognate with Spanish real, Italian reale, Catalan reial. Displaced native Old English cynelīċ.
A habitational surname, shaped by folk etymology, from places in England, Riehale, Righale, Ryhill and Ryall, Old English ryge (“rye”) + hyll (“hill”), and Royle, rā (“roe”) + hyll (“hill”).
Capitalization of royal.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Kingly; pertaining to the crown or the sovereign; suitable for a king or queen; regal; as, royal power or prerogative; royal domains; the royal family; royal state.
- adjective Noble; generous; magnificent; princely.
- noun Printing and writing papers of particular sizes. See under paper, n.
- noun A small sail immediately above the topgallant sail. Totten.
Etymology [OE. roial, riall, real, OF. roial. reial, F. royal, fr. L. regalis, fr. rex, regis, king. See Rich, and cf. regal, real a coin, Rial.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “royal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details