Royale

How to spell royale

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce royale

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does royale mean?

1. nounA grand, all-against-all contest, especially a battle in which many competitors fight until only one remains; used chiefly in the phrase 'battle royale'.

Royale in a sentence

• The studio launched a free battle royale that drops a hundred players onto one shrinking map.

• Each weekend the arcade runs a tournament styled as a battle royale with a single cash prize.

Where does royale come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the French word royale, the feminine form of royal, which English adopted whole rather than translating. It traces back through Old French roial to the Latin regalis, meaning 'of a king' or 'kingly', which was itself built on rex, regis, the Latin word for 'king'. English already had the plain word 'royal' from the same source, so 'royale' arrived later and separately as a borrowed flourish, keeping the French spelling and its fancy, decorative ring. It survives mainly in fixed phrases such as 'battle royale' (a free-for-all fight to the last survivor) and in cookery, where a 'royale' is a moulded savoury custard set into clear soup. The lingering silent French -e is exactly the spelling trap: writers who know plain 'royal' tend to drop it.

How the word is built

• roy- (from Latin rex, regis: king)
• -al (relating to)
• -e (French feminine ending)