Cyninglic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to a king or royalty, having the dignity, bearing or character befitting a monarch
2. Belonging to or characteristic of a sovereign ruler, as in the manner of a king
3. Fit for or pertaining to a king, especially in rank, authority or noble splendour

Etymology: Old English "cyninglic" is built from "cyning", "king", plus the adjective suffix "-lic", the ancestor of modern "-ly" (as in "godly" or "manly"). Put together, it meant simply "kingly" or "royal," with the same sense the modern word keeps. The base "cyning" itself is a native Germanic word, related to "cynn", meaning "kin" or "race," so a king was originally the one who belonged to a particular people or lineage. The word is attested in Old English texts, where it describes both the rank of a king and the qualities expected of one. Because it is a transparent compound of two native elements, its history is straightforward: it has been part of English since the Anglo-Saxon period and survives mainly in literary and historical writing today.