Roy″al (?), a. [OE. roial, riall, real, OF. roial. reial, F. royal, fr. L. regalis, fr. rex, regis, king. See Rich, and cf. regal, real a coin, Rial.] 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. Noble; generous; magnificent; princely.
How doth that royal merchant, good Antonio? Shak.
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.
Syn. — Kingly; regal; monarchical; imperial; kinglike; princely; august; majestic; superb; splendid; illustrious; noble; magnanimous.