royalty

noun

roy·​al·​ty ˈrȯi(-ə)l-tē 

plural royalties

1

a

: royal status or power : sovereignty

b

: a right or perquisite of a sovereign (such as a percentage paid to the crown of gold or silver taken from mines)

2

: regal character or bearing : nobility

3

a

: persons of royal lineage

b

: a person of royal rank

how to address royalties

—George Santayana

c

: an elite class

4

: a right of jurisdiction granted to an individual or corporation by a sovereign

5

a

: a share of the product or profit reserved by the grantor especially of an oil or mining lease

b

: a payment to an author or composer for each copy of a work sold or to an inventor for each item sold under a patent

Synonyms

• augustness
• kingliness
• majesty
• stateliness

Examples of royalty in a Sentence

It was an honor and a privilege to dine with royalty.

On our wedding day, we were treated like royalty.

Recent Examples on the Web

Starring Keke Palmer and SZA, the film's mashup of Hollywood and music royalty forms the backdrop for a buddy comedy that borrows from a long tradition of side-by-side slapstick flicks. —Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025

Read more Trump family channels American royalty: Body language experts' verdicts Full list of January 6 prisoners released by Trump Trump to launch executive order blitz on first full day: Live updates Can Trump's External Revenue Service collect money from foreign nations? —Kristen Waggoner, Newsweek, 21 Jan. 2025

Eventually, Danan became British reality TV royalty after stints in Come Dine With Me, Celebrity Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother. —Esther Kang, People.com, 16 Jan. 2025

Indie artists have had their royalties stolen by bad actors. —Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English roialte, from Anglo-French realté, roialté, from real

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

royalty

noun

roy·​al·​ty ˈrȯi(-ə)l-tē 

plural royalties

1

: royal status or power

2

: royal character or conduct

3

: members of a royal family

4

a

: a share of a product or profit (as of a mine) claimed by the owner for allowing another to use the property

b

: a payment made to the owner of a patent or copyright for the use of it

Legal Definition

royalty

noun

roy·​al·​ty

plural royalties

1

: a right delegated (as to an individual or corporation) by a sovereign

2

a

: a share of the profit or product reserved by the grantor especially of an oil or mineral lease compare overriding royalty

b

: a payment made to an author or composer for each copy of a work sold or to an inventor for each article sold under a patent