ROYAL

Definitions

1. 1. Kingly; pertaining to the crown or the sovereign; suitable for a king or queen; regal; as, royal power or prerogative; royal domains; the royal family; royal state.
2. 2. Noble; generous; magnificent; princely. How doth that royal merchant, good Antonio Shak.
3. 3. Under the patronage of royality; holding a charter granted by the sovereign; as, the Royal Academy of Arts; the Royal Society. Battle royal. See under Battle. -- Royal bay (Bot.), the classic laurel (Laurus nobilis.) -- Royal eagle. (Zoöl.) See Golden eagle, under Golden. -- Royal fern (Bot.), the handsome fern Osmunda regalis. See Osmund. -- Royal mast (Naut.), the mast next above the topgallant mast and usually the highest on a square-rigged vessel. The royal yard and royal sail are attached to the royal mast. -- Royal metal, an old name for gold. -- Royal palm (Bot.), a magnificent West Indian palm tree (Oreodoxa regia), lately discovered also in Florida. -- Royal pheasant. See Curassow. -- Royal purple, an intense violet color, verging toward blue. -- Royal tern (Zoöl.), a large, crested American tern (Sterna maxima). -- Royal tiger. (Zoöl.) See Tiger. -- Royal touch, the touching of a diseased person by the hand of a king, with the view of restoring to health; -- formerly extensively practiced, particularly for the scrofula, or king's evil.