Webster's English Dictionary

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royalty

roy.al.ty \'ro.i(-*)l-te-\ n [ME roialte, fr. MF roialte`, fr. OF, fr. 
   roial] 1a: royal status or power : SOVEREIGNTY  1b: a right or perquisite 
   of a sovereign (as a percentage paid to the crown  of gold or silver taken 
   from mines) 2: regal character or bearing : NOBILITY  3a: persons of royal 
   lineage  3b: a person of royal rank  3c: a privileged class  4: a right of 
   jurisdiction granted to an individual or corporation by a sov ereign 5a: a 
   share of the product or profit reserved by the grantor esp. of an oil  or 
   mining lease 5b: a payment made to an author or composer for each copy of 
   his work sold  or to an inventor for each article sold under a patent