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battle royal
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Battle royal

Royal \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. (Zo["o]l.) 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 (Zo["o]l.), a large, crested American tern ( Sterna maxima).

    Royal tiger. (Zo["o]l.) 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.

Battle royal

Battle \Bat"tle\, n. [OE. bataille, bataile, F. bataille battle, OF., battle, battalion, fr. L. battalia, battualia, the fighting and fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators, fr. batuere to strike, beat. Cf. Battalia, 1st Battel, and see Batter, v. t. ]

  1. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat.

  2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life.

    The whole intellectual battle that had at its center the best poem of the best poet of that day.
    --H. Morley.

  3. A division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.]

    The king divided his army into three battles.
    --Bacon.

    The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every action.
    --Robertson.

  4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear; battalia. [Obs.] --Hayward. Note: Battle is used adjectively or as the first part of a self-explaining compound; as, battle brand, a ``brand'' or sword used in battle; battle cry; battlefield; battle ground; battle array; battle song. Battle piece, a painting, or a musical composition, representing a battle. Battle royal.

    1. A fight between several gamecocks, where the one that stands longest is the victor.
      --Grose.

    2. A contest with fists or cudgels in which more than two are engaged; a m[^e]l['e]e.
      --Thackeray.

      Drawn battle, one in which neither party gains the victory.

      To give battle, to attack an enemy.

      To join battle, to meet the attack; to engage in battle.

      Pitched battle, one in which the armies are previously drawn up in form, with a regular disposition of the forces.

      Wager of battle. See under Wager, n.

      Syn: Conflict; encounter; contest; action.

      Usage: Battle, Combat, Fight, Engagement. These words agree in denoting a close encounter between contending parties. Fight is a word of less dignity than the others. Except in poetry, it is more naturally applied to the encounter of a few individuals, and more commonly an accidental one; as, a street fight. A combat is a close encounter, whether between few or many, and is usually premeditated. A battle is commonly more general and prolonged. An engagement supposes large numbers on each side, engaged or intermingled in the conflict.

Wiktionary
battle royal

alt. 1 A fight involving three or more individuals, teams, or factions; fought until one person, team, or faction is left standing. 2 A heated discussion or debate n. 1 A fight involving three or more individuals, teams, or factions; fought until one person, team, or faction is left standing. 2 A heated discussion or debate

WordNet
battle royal

n. a noisy riotous fight [syn: melee, scrimmage]

Wikipedia
Battle royal

Battle royal (plural battles royal) traditionally refers to a fight involving three or more combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing. In recent times, the term has been used in a more general sense to refer to any fight involving large numbers of people who are not organized into factions. Within combat sports, the term has a specific meaning, depending on the sports being discussed.

Usage examples of "battle royal".

Some while agotime runs out of kilter in your country, but it was about the season when Angavar High King traded places with one of your kings for a year and a day, and the two of them became friendssome while ago, I was challenged to a game of Kings-and-Queens, or Battle Royal, as it is sometimes known.

The row brought the Emperor's sentries, and all at once there was a battle royal, with more Holnups arriving - we heard it all, but in the dark there was nothing to be done.

It's going to cause a battle royal, this time mother against son, a fight to the death with no rules and we all know she's a hellcat when aroused--worse than my Cat--though young Malcolm's changed, tougher than I've ever seen him, more determined than he's ever been.

So by the time the entire populace was able to express their opinion on whether they wanted a constitutional monarchy, they all knew that their prospective Queen had been waging a battle royal to have herself referred to as 'Your Mousety.

Of the mercenaries he had brought down from the north, some had fallen dead or wounded in Italy, far more had fallen in Sicily, and most of those who remained had, with his assent, been speedily hired on by various of his Italian allies, this in preparation for the soon-to-be-commenced battle royal for chunks of Sicily.