royalty
noun
[ ˈrɔɪəlti ]
• people of royal blood or status.
• "diplomats, heads of state, and royalty shared tables at the banquet"
• a 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"
• a royal right (now especially over minerals) granted by the sovereign to an individual or corporation.
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.
