| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| royal |
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| SYLLABICATION: | roy·al |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  roi  l |
| ADJECTIVE: | 1. Of or relating to a monarch. 2. Of the rank of a monarch. 3. Of, relating to, or in the service of a kingdom. 4. Issued or performed by a monarch: a royal warrant; a royal visit. 5. Founded, chartered, or authorized by a monarch: a royal society of musicians. 6. Befitting royalty; stately: royal treatment. 7a. Superior, as in size or quality. b. Used as an intensive: “It would be a first-class royal mess” (Sam Nunn). | | NOUN: | 1. Informal A member of a monarch's family: “Among the resort's distinguished visitors are Swedish and Spanish royals” (Alistair Scott). 2. Nautical A sail set on the royalmast. 3. A paper size, 20 by 25 inches for printing, 19 by 24 inches for writing. | | IDIOM: | the royal road A way or method that presents no difficulties: the royal road to success. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old French, from Latin r g lis, from rx, rg-, king. See reg- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | royal·ly —ADVERB
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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