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"royal" in seven languages

Meaningroyal

Spanish

real

/reˈal/

inherited

Same spelling as real 'real' (from REĀLIS): Real Madrid is the 'Royal' club.

French

royal

/ʁwajal/

inherited

fem.: royale

Italian

reale

/reˈale/

borrowed · probably Old French or Old Provençal

Learned regale 'regal, lavish' keeps the Latin g.

Portuguese

real

/heˈaw/

inherited

Real also means 'real' and is the name of Brazil's currency.

Romanian

regal

/reˈɡal/

learned

Catalan

reial

/rəˈjal/

inherited

The -j- keeps a trace of the lost G; real means 'real'.

English

royal

/ˈɹɔɪəl/

from Latin/French · Old French roial

Learned regal is the same Latin word taken straight from the books.

English → ItalianroyalrealeCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

RĒGĀLEM‘of the king (RĒX)’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

The g between vowels melted away: RĒGĀLEM became real in Spanish and roial in Old French. English took both the worn French word (royal) and the bookish Latin one (regal).

English relatives: regal, regalia, reign

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In a sentence

  • esLa familia real vive en el palacio.
  • frLa famille royale vit au palais.
  • itLa famiglia reale vive nel palazzo.
  • ptA família real mora no palácio.
  • roFamilia regală locuiește în palat.
  • caLa família reial viu al palau.
  • enThe royal family lives in the palace.

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