Kingly is the native bottom rung of the ladder kingly, royal, regal — English, French and Latin words for the same idea, kept side by side and sorted by register. It is king, from Old English cyning, plus -ly, the native adjective ending from Old English -lic, and it dates from the late 1300s.
The Germanic languages built the same word from the same materials: German königlich, Danish kongelig, Old Frisian kenenglik. What makes the English triple interesting is that all three words survive with subtly different flavours. Kingly feels concrete and slightly archaic, royal is the ordinary official word, and regal is the most self-conscious and literary of the three. That is the standard shape of these ladders: the native word is plain, the French word does the everyday formal work, and the Latin word is reserved for effect.
kingly (adj.) late 14c., kyngly ; see king (n.) + -ly (1). Related: Kingliness . Similar formation in German königlich , Old Frisian kenenglik , Danish kongelig . also from late 14c.
kingly came in through Old English, and its spelling follows that family's conventions.
On the register ladder
English kept all three words for this idea, one from each layer, and the rung is itself the cue: the native word is blunt and concrete, the French one polite, the Latin one formal or technical.
| Old English | French | Latin |
|---|---|---|
| kingly | royal | regal |
Old English in the spelling guide · guess another word's family