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.
-
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. The touching of a diseased person by the hand of a king, with the purpose of restoring health; formerly extensively practiced, particularly for the scrofula.
Wikipedia
The royal touch (also known as the king's touch) was a form of laying on of hands, whereby French and English monarchs would touch their subjects, regardless of social classes, with the intent to cure them of various diseases and conditions. The thaumaturgic touch was most commonly applied to people suffering from tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis (better known as scrofula or the King's Evil), and exclusively to them from 16th century onwards. The disease rarely resulted in death and often went into remission on its own, giving the impression that the monarch's touch cured it. The claimed power was most notably exercised by monarchs who sought to demonstrate the legitimacy of their reign and of their newly founded dynasties.
Usage examples of "royal touch".
His countenance was naturally of the craft of an ancient statue, but somewhat disfigured by the scars of that evil, which, it was formerly imagined, the royal touch could cure.
The heavy red velvet he'd chosen to drape the pedestals and tables added a royal touch.