means The status, power, or members of a king's or queen's family — or, in a separate sense, the cut of earnings paid to an author, inventor, or landowner for the use of their work or property.

from From the Old French 'roialte,' built on 'roial' (royal), which descends from Latin 'regalis,' "kingly" — itself from 'rex,' "king," a word reaching back to the same ancient root as 'regal,' 'regent,' and 'rule.' The payment sense came later and more mundanely: by extension, a 'royalty' was originally a right granted by the crown (like the right to mine or print), so the money owed for exercising that right inherited the regal name. The king's prerogative, slowly turned into a line item.