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roy·al·ty (roiəl-tē)
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n. pl. roy·al·ties
1. Monarchs and their families considered as a group.
2. A person of royal rank or family: I wish he'd quit acting like he's royalty.
3. The rank, power, or authority of a monarch: A crown is a symbol of royalty.
4. Royal quality or bearing.
5. A kingdom or possession ruled by a monarch.
6. A right or prerogative of the crown, as that of receiving a percentage of the proceeds from mines in the royal domain.
7.
a. The granting of a right by a monarch to a corporation or an individual to exploit specified natural resources.
b. The payment for such a right.
8.
a. A share paid to a writer or composer out of the proceeds resulting from the sale or performance of their work.
b. A share in the proceeds paid to an inventor or proprietor for the right to use their invention or services.
9. A share of the profit or product reserved by the grantor, especially of an oil or mining lease. In this sense also called override.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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