royalty

noun

roy·​al·​ty ˈrȯi(-ə)l-tē 

plural royalties

1

a

: royal status or power : sovereignty

b

: a right or perquisite of a sovereign (such as a percentage paid to the crown of gold or silver taken from mines)

2

: regal character or bearing : nobility

3

a

: persons of royal lineage

b

: a person of royal rank

how to address royalties

—George Santayana

c

: an elite class

4

: a right of jurisdiction granted to an individual or corporation by a sovereign

5

a

: a share of the product or profit reserved by the grantor especially of an oil or mining lease

b

: a payment to an author or composer for each copy of a work sold or to an inventor for each item sold under a patent

Synonyms

• augustness
• kingliness
• majesty
• stateliness

Examples of royalty in a Sentence

It was an honor and a privilege to dine with royalty.

On our wedding day, we were treated like royalty.

Recent Examples on the Web

More than a hundred years before that, the Assyrian royalty of Mesopotamia protected themselves from the ill omen of solar eclipses—and from other celestial signs perceived as threatening—by installing substitute kings and queens for the day. —Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024

According to Bloomberg, Swift's earnings from Spotify and YouTube total around $120 million while royalties from music sales rake in another $80 million. —Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024

Spotify’s move into other kinds of programming has alarmed its partners in the music industry, who fret the company will try to reduce their royalties. —Lucas Shaw, Fortune Europe, 3 Apr. 2024

If Whitesell is appointed as chairman of WME at the close of the go-private transaction with Silver Lake, he will be entitled to receive quarterly royalty payments from WME equal to 2.5% of the quarterly net cash profits of the agency representation business of WME. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024

Venerated by royalty and Hollywood stars alike, the curvy and speedy Aquarama cost more than the most expensive Rolls-Royce. —The Editors, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024

BandLab was founded in 2015, and doesn’t receive royalties from music made on its platform. —Lars Brandle, Billboard, 22 Mar. 2024

Oates is known to be advocating that the pair complete a deal to sell the song publishing royalties to their 1970s and ‘80s hits in order to receive a financial payout sooner rather than later. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024

The dual crown indicates Ramses’ simultaneous authority over the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt, while the cobra represents royalty, writes the National’s Kamal Tabikha. —Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English roialte, from Anglo-French realté, roialté, from real

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

royalty

noun

roy·​al·​ty ˈrȯi(-ə)l-tē 

plural royalties

1

: royal status or power

2

: royal character or conduct

3

: members of a royal family

4

a

: a share of a product or profit (as of a mine) claimed by the owner for allowing another to use the property

b

: a payment made to the owner of a patent or copyright for the use of it

Legal Definition

royalty

noun

roy·​al·​ty

plural royalties

1

: a right delegated (as to an individual or corporation) by a sovereign

2

a

: a share of the profit or product reserved by the grantor especially of an oil or mineral lease compare overriding royalty

b

: a payment made to an author or composer for each copy of a work sold or to an inventor for each article sold under a patent