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royalty

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Royalty is defined as a person or a group of people related to a monarch, or a share of the proceeds paid to the owner for use of their work or their ownership rights.

(noun)

An example of royalty is a king.
An example of royalty is a payment to a music composer.

See royalty in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. royalties

the rank, status, or power of a king or queen; royal position, dignity, etc.; sovereignty
a royal person or, collectively, royal persons
Archaic a royal domain or realm; kingdom
royal quality or character; nobility, magnanimity, etc.
Archaic a right, privilege, or prerogative of a monarch
Rare
1. a royal right, as over some natural resource, granted by a monarch to a person, corporation, etc.
2. payment for such a right
1. a share of the proceeds or product paid to the owner of a right, as a patent, for permission to use it or operate under it
2. such a share paid to one from whom lands rich in oil or minerals are leased
3. a share of proceeds, usually a specified percentage, paid for the work of an author, composer, etc. by the publisher

Origin: ME roialte < OFr < ML regalitas < L regalis, regal

See royalty in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. roy·al·ties

a. A person of royal rank or lineage.
b. Monarchs and their families considered as a group.
The lineage or rank of a monarch.
The power, status, or authority of a monarch.
Royal quality or bearing.
A kingdom or possession ruled by a monarch.
A right or prerogative of the crown, as that of receiving a percentage of the proceeds from mines in the royal domain.
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.
a. A share paid to a writer or composer out of the proceeds resulting from the sale or performance of his or her work.
b. A share in the proceeds paid to an inventor or a proprietor for the right to use his or her invention or services.
A share of the profit or product reserved by the grantor, especially of an oil or mining lease. Also called override.