Dictionary

royalty en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɹɔɪəlti/ (UK)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English royaltee, roialtee, royalte, from Old French roialté, roiauté, realté (compare earlier Old French realted (“realm, kingdom”)), from Vulgar Latin *rēgālitās, from Latin rēgālis, equivalent to royal + -ty. Doublet of regality.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The rank, status, power or authority of a monarch.
2. (countable, uncountable) People of royal rank, plus their families, treated as a group.
   • Wolferton was an important station on the Kings Lynn-Hunstanton line, which closed in 1969. As the station was convenient for the Sandringham estate, it was regularly patronised by royalty, and royal retiring rooms were provided. 2022 December 14, Robin Leleux, “A royal occasion as heritage projects honoured: Wolferton”, in RAIL, number 972, page 61:
3. (countable, uncountable) A royal right or prerogative, such as the exploitation of a natural resource; the granting of such a right; payment received for such a right.
4. (countable, uncountable) The payment received by an owner of real property for exploitation of mineral rights in the property.
5. (broadly, countable, uncountable) Payment made to a writer, composer, inventor etc for the sale or use of intellectual property, invention etc.
6. (countable, uncountable) To make more money from a book than it cost to run an advertising campaign for it; to make enough in royalties to cover the advance a book received.
   • Until the total of advances in that contract has been earned out by royalties from any or all books in that contract, the author will not receive additional royalties. 2014, Richard Curtis, Mastering the Business of Writing:
7. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Someone in a privileged position.
   • England will have another manager for the next World Cup, Hodgson’s reign will be defined by a result comparable to losing to the United States in the 1950 World Cup and the now-familiar inquest will begin again in a country that likes to see itself as football royalty. 2016 June 27, Daniel Taylor, “England humiliated as Iceland knock them out of Euro 2016”, in The Guardian, London:
   • The Biden large-donor scene, where Mr. Katzenberg is treated as royalty himself, has been devastated since Mr. Biden’s debate performance two weeks ago. 2024 July 11, Theodore Schleifer, Jacob Bernstein, Reid J. Epstein, “How Biden Lost George Clooney and Hollywood”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
8. (countable, slang, uncountable) A king and a queen as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.
9. (Scotland, countable, historical, uncountable) The bounds of a royal burgh.

Forms

Deriveds

antiroyalty · royalty-free · nonroyalty · viceroyalty

Descendants

Royalty · royalty · royalty · royalty · royalty · royalty · royalty

Translations (81)

mk член на кра́лско се́мејство (monarch and their families treated as a group) · cy breindal (payment for exploiting mineral rights) · ru ца́рственность (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · pl tantiema (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · he מַלְכוּת (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · cy brenhindod (monarch and their families treated as a group) · sv kunglighet (monarch and their families treated as a group) · pl królewskość (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · ru член короле́вской семьи́ (monarch and their families treated as a group) · ar مَلَكِيَّة (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · ro regalitate (monarch and their families treated as a group) · mk кра́лско се́мејство (monarch and their families treated as a group) · ko 실시료 (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · mk кра́лски ли́ца (monarch and their families treated as a group) · cy brenhindod (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · nn royalty (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · fr royalty (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · fr royalty (payment for exploiting mineral rights) · enm royalte (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · ko 인세 (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · ca reialesa (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · fr redevance (payment for exploiting mineral rights) · id royalti (payment for exploiting mineral rights) · el βασιλεία (monarch and their families treated as a group) · de Tantieme (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · es realeza (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · ko 로열티 (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · es derechos de autor (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · id royalti (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · ja 特許使用料 (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · cy brenhiniaeth (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · vi hoàng tộc (monarch and their families treated as a group) · mk хонора́р (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · ja ロイヤリティ (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · fi tekijänoikeuskorvaus (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · fi rojalti (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · it royalty (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · he מלוכה (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · gl realeza (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · ro monarhie (monarch and their families treated as a group) · ko 황족 (monarch and their families treated as a group) · fi kuningasperhe (monarch and their families treated as a group) · es regalía (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · nrf rouoyauté (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · ko 저작권 사용료 (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · de Royalty (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · ga dleacht (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · ru вели́чие (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · da royalty (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · vi vương quyền (monarch and their families treated as a group) · ja 印税 (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · fr règne (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · ja ロイヤリティー (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · hu tiszteletdíj (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · cmn 皇族 (monarch and their families treated as a group) · hy ռոյալթի (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · ro regalitate (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · es royalty (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · pt realeza (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · cs honorář (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · ru короле́вская семья́ (monarch and their families treated as a group) · cmn 王族 (monarch and their families treated as a group) · ca drets d'autor (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · el πνευματικά δικαιώματα (payment for exploiting mineral rights) · ja 皇族 (monarch and their families treated as a group) · it diritto d'autore (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · pt royalty (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · de Nutzungsgebühr (payment for exploiting mineral rights) · fi rojalti (payment for exploiting mineral rights) · ru ро́ялти (payment for exploiting mineral rights) · fr droit d'auteur (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · fi kuninkuus (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · mk вели́чие (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · he מלוכה (monarch and their families treated as a group) · pt realeza (monarch and their families treated as a group) · mi tiringa (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · am ንጉሥነት (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · nb royalty (payment made to owner of intellectual property) · sa राज्य (rank, status, etc. of a monarch) · ja 王族 (monarch and their families treated as a group) · cy breindal (payment made to owner of intellectual property)