The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
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.
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Noble; generous; magnificent; princely.
How doth that royal merchant, good Antonio?
--Shak. -
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.
Wiktionary
n. (context obsolete English) gold
Usage examples of "royal metal".
Gold, which we call the royal metal, was in fact the metal of the gods.