Royal

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɹɔɪ.əl/

Definitions

1. Concerning a reigning family or sovereign, often associated with regal authority, and signifying high status or exceptional quality
2. Pertaining to kings or queens, indicating something associated with nobility, and denoting grandeur or excellence in appearance or character
3. Connected to a king, queen, or ruling monarch, often involving official duties or status ; having qualities or traits that suggest importance, magnificence, or high social rank

Etymology: The adjective "royal" passed through French before reaching English, and its story is tangled up with coins. It comes from Latin "rēgālis", meaning "of a king," built from "rēx", "king." That Latin root travelled into Old French as "roial," which Middle English borrowed as "royal." English already had a native word for the same idea, "cynelīċ," from "cyning" (king), and the French arrival pushed it out of use. "Royal" is a doublet, meaning it shares a source with several other English words that arrived by different routes. "Regal" is the more direct Latin descendant, and "real," the old unit of currency, comes from the same Latin base through Spanish "real" and its relatives. The same root also gave the riyal, the currency of several Arab states, which is a sibling of that Spanish coin. So a single Latin word for "kingly" ended up naming both a grand adjective and the coins that kings stamped.

Synonyms: regal, monarchic, noble, kingly, imperial

Antonyms: common, ordinary, plebeian, humble, lowly