royalty

 
Pronunciation: /ˈrɔɪəlti/

noun (plural royalties)

  • 1 [mass noun] people of royal blood or status: diplomats, heads of state, and royalty shared tables at the banquet
  • a member of a royal family: she swept by as if she were royalty
  • the status or power of a king or queen: the brilliance of her clothes, her jewels, all revealed her royalty
  • 2a sum paid to a patentee for the use of a patent or to an author or composer for each copy of a book sold or for each public performance of a work: the royalties paid to writers for recorded music
  • 3a royal right (now especially over minerals) granted by the sovereign to an individual or corporation.
  • a payment made by a producer of minerals, oil, or natural gas to the owner of the site or of the mineral rights over it.

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French roialte, from roial (see royal). The sense 'royal right (especially over minerals') (late 15th century) developed into the sense 'payment made by a mineral producer to the site owner' (mid 19th century), which was then transferred to payments for the use of patents and published materials