royal English · revision 2767

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250|origins=la rēx}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈrɔɪ.əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|royal]],^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|roial|t=royal, regal; splendid, magnificent]] (modern royal),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|rēgālis|t=of a king, kingly]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|rēx|t=king]] (genitive rēgis),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*h₃reǵ-|alt=*reg-|t=to move in a straight line; to direct, rule]].^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of [[regal]], which came directly from Latin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Fit for a king, magnificent: about 1250 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-13th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Of or pertaining to a monarch, majestic” is from about 1375, in Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The French origin of several Middle English uses shows in the position of the adjective after the noun, as in ''blood royal'' and ''battle royal'' (1670s).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Of institutions, “founded under the patronage of a sovereign”, it is from about 1500.^(Etymonline) The noun, a royal person, is from about 1400, and a member of the royal family, colloquially, from 1774.^(Etymonline) The sense “splendid, first-rate” is by 1853, and the American colloquial intensive, as in ''a royal pain'', from the 1940s.^(Etymonline) The ''Royal Oak'' is the tree at Boscobel in which Charles II hid in 1651.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – fit for a king.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1375 – of a monarch.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – noun, a royal person.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1500 – founded by a sovereign.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1670s – ''battle royal''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1774 – a member of the royal family.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1853 – splendid, first-rate.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of, relating to or belonging to a king or queen; [[regal]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Having the rank of a [[monarch]] or belonging to a monarch's family.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Founded or authorized by a monarch: ''the Royal Navy''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Fit for a king; [[splendid]] or superior.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal, chiefly US)'' Very great: ''a royal pain''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' A member of a royal family.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A sail above the topgallant; a size of paper.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[royally]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[real]]

+ * [[realm]]

+ * [[regal]]

+ * [[royalty]]

+ * [[royalist]]

+ * [[rex]]

+ * [[reign]]

+ * [[rule]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}