■ adjective
1》 relating to or having the status of a king or queen or a member of their family.
2》 of a quality or size suitable for a king or queen; splendid.
3》 Brit. informal real; utter (used for emphasis): she's a right ~ pain in the behind.
■ noun
1》 informal a member of the ~ family.
2》 (in full metric ~ ) a paper size, 636 × 480 mm.
↘(in full ~ octavo ) a book size, 234 × 156 mm.
↘(in full ~ quarto ) a book size, 312 × 237 mm.
3》 Bell-ringing a system of change-ringing using ten bells.
Phrases
the ~ we the use of ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ by a single person, as traditionally used by a sovereign.
Derivatives
~ly adverb
Origin
ME: from OFr. roial , from L. regalis 'regal'.