royal

Forms

royal (feminine royale, masculine plural royaux, feminine plural royales)^[1] Old French regiel (about 880), reial, real (late 11th century), roial (about 1188); royal from the early 13th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French roial, inherited from Latin rēgālis (“royal, worthy of a king”), from rēx (“king”).^[5][3][1][6] Rey and the GLLF see the forms from ⟨reial⟩ on as formed on roi after the Latin word, which had given the earliest form regiel.^[2][4]

Cognate with Occitan reial, Spanish real, Portuguese real and Italian regale, reale.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Séquence de sainte Eulalie (about 880) has regiel “of a king”.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

From the first texts the word described what belongs to the king, and also what depends on his authority or is done in his name, as in the law terms cas royaux (1611) and juges royaux (1690).^[2] Famille royale and altesse royale are recorded by Furetière (1690), in the sense of the older real lignage (about 1138).^[2][4] From the early 16th century it named institutions under the king's authority, such as the collège royal (1752), the old name of the Collège de France.^[2]

By extension it meant “worthy of a king, magnificent” (about 1170) and “excellent” (1119), a use now mainly familiar, as in une paix royale.^[5][2] The figurative route royale (Staël, 1810), later voie royale, is the most direct road to an end.^[5][2] From the early 16th century it also names plants and animals remarkable for size or beauty.^[2]

À la royale “in the king's fashion” (1588) is now used of rich dishes, as lièvre à la royale.^[2] The feminine noun royale named a small tuft of beard under the lower lip (1798) and, in cooking, a garnish of consommé bound with egg (1938).^[5][2] English royal (mid-13th century) is from Old French roial.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 880 – Regiel appears in the Séquence de sainte Eulalie.^[5][2]
• Late 11th century – The forms reial and real appear.^[2][3]
• 1119 – Philippe de Thaon uses it of something remarkable.^[5]
• c. 1170 – Marie de France uses it for what is worthy of a king.^[5]
• c. 1188 – The form roial is recorded.^[2]
• Early 13th century – The spelling royal appears, and chemin royal is used of a road under the king.^[2][5]
• 1392 – Eustache Deschamps writes of chançons royaulx, a poetic form.^[5]
• 1588 – À la royale is recorded.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records famille royale and altesse royale.^[2]
• 1798 – The Académie records royale for a tuft of beard.^[5]
• 1810 – Mme de Staël writes route royale figuratively.^[5]
• 1938 – Royale names a soup garnish.^[5][2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of the king or queen; belonging to the king or done in his name: la famille royale, Son Altesse Royale.^[9][10]
2. La voie royale: the most direct and glorious way to an end.^[9][2]
3. Worthy of a king; magnificent, lavish: un festin royal.^[9][10]
4. (familiar) Perfect, complete: une paix royale.^[9][2][10]
5. Of certain animals and plants remarkable for their size or beauty: aigle royal, tigre royal.^[9][10]

Noun

1. la Royale: the French navy.^[10]
2. (cooking) à la royale, of rich dishes: lièvre à la royale.^[9][2]
3. (cooking) A garnish for clear soups made of consommé or purée bound with eggs.^[2]
4. (historical) A small tuft of beard under the lower lip, fashionable under Louis XIII.^[2]
5. (historical) The masculine royal: a French gold coin of the 14th and 15th centuries.^[11][2]

Word family

• royauté
• royalement

Related words

• roi
• royaume
• régalien
• Latin rēgālis
• English royal

Usage notes

The old masculine plural royaux with feminine nouns survives in a few historical phrases, such as ordonnances royaux beside ordonnances royales.^[2] In the 16th century Bèze recommended the pronunciation roi-ial.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 201b
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)