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
dined with royalty
On our wedding day, we were treated like royalty.
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
Cite this Entry
“Royalty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/royalty. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.
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