Kyngly

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having the dignity, authority, or grandeur appropriate to a monarch or ruler
2. Regal in bearing, noble in character, and suited to a sovereign ruler
3. Describing something that carries the majesty and power associated with a royal figure

Etymology: The root of "kyngly" is a word for a person of noble family. Old English "cyning" (the source of "king") came from Proto-Germanic "*kuningaz," which probably combined "kun-", meaning kin or family, with the suffix "-ing," meaning "descendant of." A king was, in origin, someone defined by his lineage rather than by his office. The ending comes from Old English "-lic," which meant "having the form or quality of" and is related to the noun "lic," meaning body. Old English combined the two as "cyninglic," meaning "royal" or "like a king," and this sense has stayed fairly stable. The spelling "kyngly" with a "y" reflects Middle English spelling habits, where "y" was often written for the vowel in "king," and the form was common in texts before standard spelling settled in the early modern period. Modern English keeps the older "kingly" spelling.