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.]
1. 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.
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2. Noble; generous; magnificent; princely.
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How doth that royal merchant, good Antonio? --Shak.
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3. Under the patronage of royality; holding a charter granted
by the sovereign; as, the Royal Academy of Arts; the Royal
Society.
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Battle royal. See under Battle.
Royal bay (Bot.), the classic laurel ({Laurus nobilis.)
Royal eagle. (Zool.) 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 (Zool.), a large, crested American tern ({Sterna
maxima).
Royal tiger. (Zool.) 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.
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Syn: Kingly; regal; monarchical; imperial; kinglike;
princely; august; majestic; superb; splendid;
illustrious; noble; magnanimous.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Battle \Bat"tle\, n. [OE. bataille, bataile, F. bataille battle,
OF., battle, battalion, fr. L. battalia, battualia, the
fighting and fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators,
fr. batuere to strike, beat. Cf. Battalia, 1st Battel,
and see Batter, v. t. ]
1. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the
divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement;
a combat.
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2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life.
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The whole intellectual battle that had at its center
the best poem of the best poet of that day. --H.
Morley.
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3. A division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.]
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The king divided his army into three battles.
--Bacon.
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The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the
battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every
action. --Robertson.
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4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear;
battalia. [Obs.] --Hayward.
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Note: Battle is used adjectively or as the first part of a
self-explaining compound; as, battle brand, a "brand"
or sword used in battle; battle cry; battlefield;
battle ground; battle array; battle song.
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Battle piece, a painting, or a musical composition,
representing a battle.
Battle royal.
(a) A fight between several gamecocks, where the one that
stands longest is the victor. --Grose.
(b) A contest with fists or cudgels in which more than two
are engaged; a m[^e]l['e]e. --Thackeray.
Drawn battle, one in which neither party gains the victory.
To give battle, to attack an enemy.
To join battle, to meet the attack; to engage in battle.
Pitched battle, one in which the armies are previously
drawn up in form, with a regular disposition of the
forces.
Wager of battle. See under Wager, n.
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Syn: Conflict; encounter; contest; action.
Usage: Battle, Combat, Fight, Engagement. These words
agree in denoting a close encounter between contending
parties. Fight is a word of less dignity than the
others. Except in poetry, it is more naturally applied
to the encounter of a few individuals, and more
commonly an accidental one; as, a street fight. A
combat is a close encounter, whether between few or
many, and is usually premeditated. A battle is
commonly more general and prolonged. An engagement
supposes large numbers on each side, engaged or
intermingled in the conflict.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
battle royal
n : a noisy riotous fight [syn: melee, scrimmage]
WordNet (r) 2.0
39 Moby Thesaurus words for "battle royal":
action, aerial combat, affray, armored combat, battle, brush,
bullfight, clash, clash of arms, cockfight, combat, conflict,
dogfight, embroilment, exchange of blows, fight, fire fight, fray,
ground combat, hand-to-hand combat, hand-to-hand fight,
house-to-house combat, naval combat, passage of arms,
pitched battle, quarrel, rumble, running fight, scramble,
scrimmage, scuffle, shoving match, skirmish, stand-up fight,
street fight, struggle, tauromachy, tug-of-war, tussle
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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