royal

[roi-uh l] /ˈrɔɪ əl/
adjective
1.
of or pertaining to a king, queen, or other sovereign:
royal power; a royal palace.
2.
descended from or related to a king or line of kings:
a royal prince.
3.
noting or having the rank of a king or queen.
4.
established or chartered by or existing under the patronage of a sovereign:
a royal society.
5.
(initial capital letter) serving or subject to a king, queen, or other sovereign.
6.
proceeding from or performed by a sovereign:
a royal warrant.
7.
appropriate to or befitting a sovereign; magnificent; stately:
royal splendor.
8.
(usually initial capital letter) British. in the service of the monarch or of the Commonwealth:
Royal Marines; Royal Air Force.
9.
fine; excellent:
in royal spirits.
10.
Informal. extreme or persistent; unmitigated:
a royal nuisance; a royal pain.
noun
11.
Nautical. a sail set on a royal mast.
12.
Informal. a royal person; member of the royalty.
13.
Usually, royals. Chiefly British. a member of England's royal family.
14.
a size of printing paper, 20 × 25 inches (51 × 64 cm).
15.
a size of writing paper, 19 × 24 inches (48 × 61 cm).
16.
Numismatics. any of various former coins, as the real or ryal.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English < Middle French < Latin rēgālis kingly, equivalent to rēg- (stem of rēx) king + -ālis -al1; cf. regal
Related forms
royally, adverb
antiroyal, adjective
nonroyal, adjective
nonroyally, adverb
preroyal, adjective
preroyally, adverb
pseudoroyal, adjective
pseudoroyally, adverb
quasi-royal, adjective
quasi-royally, adverb
Can be confused
roil, royal.
Synonyms
7. majestic. See kingly.
Antonyms
7. servile.
Examples from the web for royal
  • The royal couple were unharmed, but made the return journey home after the performance in an armored police truck.
  • The panel was excavated in perfect condition from a royal ball court.
  • Or perhaps we've got a drone that's been fed royal jelly all his life.
  • royal building programmes and pageantry came to seem wasteful extravagance.
  • But many less creditable royal interventions have gone underreported and are seldom discussed.
  • And they were a royal pain about actually delivering the thing.
  • Or find another reviewer, which is a royal pain as well.
  • The same goes for the royal army, though the king may not agree.
  • Over time, robbers raided many of the valley's royal tombs.
  • Yes, they can do some wonderful things, but they are a royal pain in many ways.
British Dictionary definitions for royal

royal

/ˈrɔɪəl/
adjective
1.
of, relating to, or befitting a king, queen, or other monarch; regal
2.
(prenominal; often capital) established, chartered by, under the patronage or in the service of royalty: the Royal Society of St George
3.
being a member of a royal family
4.
above the usual or normal in standing, size, quality, etc
5.
(informal) unusually good or impressive; first-rate
6.
(nautical) just above the topgallant (in the phrase royal mast)
noun
7.
(sometimes capital) (informal) a member of a royal family
8.
Also called royal stag. a stag with antlers having 12 or more branches
9.
(nautical) a sail set next above the topgallant, on a royal mast
10.
a size of printing paper, 20 by 25 inches
11.
(mainly Brit) Also called small royal. a size of writing paper, 19 by 24 inches
12.
any of various book sizes, esp 61/4 by 10 inches (royal octavo), 63/4 by 101/4 inches (super royal octavo), and (chiefly Brit) 10 by 121/2 inches (royal quarto) and 101/4 by 131/2 inches (super royal quarto)
Derived Forms
royally, adverb
Word Origin
C14: from Old French roial, from Latin rēgālis, fit for a king, from rēx king; compare regal1
Word Origin and History for royal
adj.

mid-13c., "fit for a king;" late 14c., "pertaining to a king," from Old French roial "royal, regal; splendid, magnificent" (12c., Modern French royal), from Latin regalis "of a king, kingly, royal, regal," from rex (genitive regis) "king" (see rex). Meaning "thorough, total" attested from 1940s; that of "splendid, first-rate" from 1853.

Battle royal (1670s) preserves the French custom of putting the adjective after the noun (cf. attorney general); the sense of the adjective here is "on a grand scale" (cf. pair-royal "three of a kind in cards or dice," c.1600). The Royal Oak was a tree in Boscobel in Shropshire in which Charles II hid himself during flight after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Sprigs of oak were worn to commemorate his restoration in 1660.

n.

"royal person," c.1400, from royal (adj.). Specifically "member of the royal family" from 1774.

Slang definitions & phrases for royal

royal

adjective

Thorough; definitive: gives me a royal pain in the ass (1940s+)