Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Majesty |
MajestyNoun1. Impressiveness in scale or proportion. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "majesty" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
Etymology: Majesty \Maj"es*ty\, noun; plural Majesties. [Old English magestee, French majest['e], Latin majestas, from an old compar. of magnus great. See Major, Master.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | MAJESTY, n. The state and title of a king. Regarded with a just contempt by the Most Eminent Grand Masters, Grand Chancellors, Great Incohonees and Imperial Potentates of the ancient and honorable orders of republican America. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
Literature | Majesty Henry VIII. was the first English sovereign who was styled "His Majesty." Henry IV. was "His Grace;" Henry VI, "His Excellent Grace;" Edward IV., "High and Mighty Prince;" Henry VII., "His Grace," and "His Highness;" Henry VIII., in the earlier part of his reign, was styled "His Highness." "His Sacred Majesty" was a title assumed by subsequent sovereigns, but was afterwards changed to "Most Excellent Majesty." Majesty in heraldry. An eagle crowned and holding a sceptre is "an eagle in his majesty." Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: MajestySynonyms: loftiness (n), stateliness (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Deity | Infinite power, infinite wisdom, infinite goodness, infinite justice, infinite truth, infinite mercy; omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence; unity, immutability, holiness, glory, majesty, sovereignty, infinity, eternity. |
Master | Crowned head, emperor, king, anointed king, majesty, imperator, protector, president, stadholder, judge. |
Repute | Dignity; stateliness; Adjective: solemnity, grandeur, splendor, nobility, majesty, sublimity. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Majesty |
| English words defined with "majesty": amazed, amazing, Antonomasia, astonied, astonished, astounded, awe-inspiring, awesome, awful, awing ♦ contemptible ♦ despicable ♦ Lese-majesty ♦ Majesties ♦ Shekinah, stunned. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "majesty": Apostolic Majesty ♦ Catholic King, Catholic Majesty, Chat de Beaugency, Collective Nouns ♦ Devil, Diable, Dunstan ♦ Galeotti ♦ HEAD ♦ -head ♦ Himiltrude, Hundred Days ♦ Icon Basilike ♦ K.K ♦ PRINCES ♦ Screw Plot, Sortes Virgilianae, soul ♦ tree ♦ Vaugirard ♦ William. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "majesty": majestic. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | To His Majesty, King Jaffe Joffer, The Royal Palace, Zamunda (Coming to America; writing credit: David Sheffield) The majesty and grandeur of the English language, it's the greatest possession we have (My Fair Lady; writing credit: George Bernard Shaw; Alan Jay Lerner) When the lion invites the mouse to a disputation, your majesty, the mouse, however fond he may be of arguing, would do well to avoid the disputation if he can; for the poor mouse does not know which to fear most: losing the argument or winning it. (The Disputation; writing credit: Hyam Maccoby) We're kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols (Christmas Vacation; writing credit: John Hughes) She also seems Graceful so I'll call her Grace, or Majesty, or Debbie (SpongeBob SquarePants; writing credit: Leonardo Fasoli; Patrizia Fassio) | |
Lyrics | His majesty was in command (Matilda Mother; performing artist: Pink Floyd) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Her Majesty (2001) Majesty (1968) His Majesty O'Keefe (1954) Love Her Majesty (1931) Bunker Bean His Majesty (1925) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Acrylic painting of a Barrow's Goldeneye by Robert Steiner, 315 Cornwall Street, San Francisco, CA 94118. As one of the top wildlife artist's in the country, Bob Steiner, finally won the 1997 Federal Duck Stamp Contest at the age of 48 after 17 previous attempts. Chosen over 379 other entries, Steiner's Barrow's Goldeneye depicts the majesty of the species. The same design, with some enhancements, came in third in the 1995 Federal Duck Stamp Contest (the winner that year was the Surf Scoter design by Wilhelm Goebel). Mr. Steiner has designed a total of 47 duck stamp (state and other commissioned venues), more than any other artist. With a Bachelor's degree in painting and etching at the renowned Rhode Island School of Design, he also achieved a Master's degree in etching and fine art printmaking from San Francisco State University. Return to the Federal Duck Stamp Office Home Page Visit the U.S. Fish and. |  | Joshua Brookes, Esqre. : Professor of Anatomy, F.R.S. F.L.S. &c. &c. / Painted by B. E. Duppa. Engraved by Wm. Ward, Engraver to His Majesty. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | A minister extraordinary taking passage & bound on a foreign mission to the court of his satanic majesty!. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | What! thundered his Majesty. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Tis a pie, Your Majesty, he said simply, an apple pie. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | The majesty of the law. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Who stole the tarts?] "Please, your Majesty," said the Knave, "I didn't write it ... Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II / Chandor. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Her majesty goes yachting but clings to her "national" garb. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | American military delegation calling on Haile Selassie. Before its audience with His Majesty, Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, the American military delegation, paid a courtesy call on the British commanding officer of the Ethiopian area, Major Genera. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Play | Caption |
 | Royalty; royal; king; queen; princess; prince; duchess; duke; trumpet; majestic; majesty. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Edward Young | Virtue alone has majesty in death. |
Hosea Ballou | Between the humble and the contrite heart and the majesty of heaven there are no barriers; the only password is prayer. |
Ovid | Majesty and love do not consort well together, nor do they dwell in the same place. |
Ralph Waldo Emerson | In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | Germany renounces in favour of the Government of His Britannic Majesty the German State property in the British Concession at Shameen at Canton. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Sylvie and Bruno | Carroll, Lewis | His Majesty looked round him severely, and gave a slight growl, which produced instant silence |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | He turned towards a bust of the Duke de Berry which stood upon the mantel, and bowed to it profoundly with a sort of peculiar majesty. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | He offended the majesty of God by the sinful thought of one instant and God cast him out of heaven into hell for ever |
King Richard III | Shakespeare, William | Madam, his Majesty doth can for you, And for your Grace, and you, my gracious lords |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | I stayed three months in this country out of perfect obedience to his Majesty, who was pleased highly to favor me, and made me very honorable offers |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Swaziland | The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), appointed by His Majesty King Mswati III in 1996, has not yet finished drafting the constitution. (references) |
Nepal | His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev is the Supreme Commander of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) while Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba serves as Minister of Defense. (references) | |
Oman | The latest major government project is an U.S. $2.6 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Sur, which began exporting LNG to Korea in May 2000. The plant was inaugurated in October 2000 by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Sa'id. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | HEAD-:MONEY:, n. A capitation tax, or poll-tax. In ancient times there lived a king Whose tax-collectors could not wring From all his subjects gold enough To make the royal way less rough. For pleasure's highway, like the dames Whose premises adjoin it, claims Perpetual repairing. So The tax-collectors in a row Appeared before the throne to pray Their master to devise some way To swell the revenue. "So great," Said they, "are the demands of state A tithe of all that we collect Will scarcely meet them. Pray reflect: How, if one-tenth we must resign, Can we exist on t'other nine?" The monarch asked them in reply: "Has it occurred to you to try The advantage of economy?" "It has," the spokesman said: "we sold All of our gray garrotes of gold; With plated-ware we now compress The necks of those whom we assess. Plain iron forceps we employ To mitigate the miser's joy Who hoards, with greed that never tires, That which your Majesty requires." Deep lines of thought were seen to plow Their way across the royal brow. "Your state is desperate, no question; Pray favor me with a suggestion." "O King of Men," the spokesman said, "If you'll impose upon each head A tax, the augmented revenue We'll cheerfully divide with you." As flashes of the sun illume The parted storm-cloud's sullen gloom, The king smiled grimly. "I decree That it be so -- and, not to be In generosity outdone, Declare you, each and every one, Exempted from the operation Of this new law of capitation. But lest the people censure me Because they're bound and you are free, 'Twere well some clever scheme were laid By you this poll-tax to evade. I'll leave you now while you confer With my most trusted minister." The monarch from the throne-room walked And straightway in among them stalked A silent man, with brow concealed, Bare-armed -- his gleaming axe revealed! G.J. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
King Constantine of Greece | May I say, Your Majesty, this has been a delight. I've looked forward to it. Wonderful talking with you. And I look forward to meeting you in person in Athens at the next Olympics. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
George Washington | 1789-1797 | The consular convention, too, with His Most Christian Majesty has stipulated in certain cases the aid of the national authority to his consuls established here. |
James Monroe | 1817-1825 | Petersburg, submitted to the decision of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | This is the majesty and the meaning of this moment. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Majesty" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 98.58% of the time. "Majesty" is used about 561 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 98.58% | 553 | 11,271 |
| Noun (proper) | 1.42% | 8 | 124,375 |
| Total | 100.00% | 561 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "majesty": his majesty ♦ his sable majesty ♦ lese majesty ♦ Leze majesty ♦ purveyor to his majesty the king ♦ your majesty. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "majesty": Lese-majesty. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "majesty"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | madhësi (bulk, dimension, ensemble, gauge, greatness, largeness, loftiness, magnificence, magnitude, operand, quantity, rout, size), madhështi (brilliance, brilliancy, elevation, flamboyance, flamboyancy, glory, grandeur, grandiosity, pageantry, pomp, solemnity, splendor, splendour, state, sublimity), madhëri. (various references) | |
Arabic | فخامة (grandeur, magnificence, nobleness, splendor, splendour), سلطان (authority, clutch, dominion, lordship, monarch, power, reign, sultan, suzerainty), عظمة (force, grandeur, greatness, laurels, lordliness, magnificence, magnitude, noble-mindedness, pageantry, pomp, splendor, splendour, state, sublimate), جلالة. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | суверенитет (sovereignty), върховна власт (sovereignty, supremacy, topside), величество, величественост (grandeur, heraldry, magnificence), величавост (nobleness), величие (eminence, greatness, largeness, magnificence, mightiness, splendor, splendour, sublimity). (various references) | |
Chinese | 雄伟 (Majesties, superb). (various references) | |
Czech | majestát (kingliness), velièenstvo. (various references) | |
Dutch | verhevenheid (grandeur, height, platform, stage), statigheid (ceremony, solemnity). (various references) | |
Esperanto | moŝto (excellency), majesto, majesteco. (various references) | |
Faeroese | hátign (excellency). (various references) | |
Farsi | سلطنت (Dominion, Reign, Sultanate), بزرگی عظمت وشان واقتدار, برتری (Advantage, Excellence, Excellency, Influence, Power, Predominance, Preference, Prepayment, Primacy, Priority, Profit, Prominence, Supremacy, Trancscendent, Upperhand, Vantage). (various references) | |
Finnish | majesteetti. (various references) | |
French | majesté (majestic). (various references) | |
German | Majestät (excellency), Hoheit (excellency, highness, majestic-dignity, sovereignty). (various references) | |
Greek | μεγαλείο (glamor, glamour, glory, grandeur, splendor, splendour, splendours, sublime, sublimeness), μεγαλοπρέπεια (gorgeousness, grandiosity, loftiness, magnificence, pomp, resplendence, resplendency, splendidness, stateliness). (various references) | |
Hebrew | "ו" מלכותו (his majesty, sire), ""ר (glory, splendor, state), 'אות (boom, boon, flood tide, flow, flux, glory, high tide, pride, swell, swelling, tide), 'או" (boastfulness, conceit, haughtiness, pride), רוממות (dignity, elevation, grandeur, grandiosity, highness, serenity, superiority). (various references) | |
Hungarian | felség (royalty), magasztosság (dignity, elevation, grandeur, sublimeness), fenség (highness, royalty, sublimeness, sublimity). (various references) | |
Indonesian | keagungan (grandeur, greatness, mastery), baginda (sire). (various references) | |
Italian | maest (sire). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 華 (glory, luxury, splendour), 尊厳 (dignity, sanctity), 威風 (dignity), 威儀 (dignified manner, dignity). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | そ"'" (dignity, sanctity), いぎ (different meaning, dignified manner, dignity, dissent, meaning, objection, protest, significance), いふう (dignity, hereditary custom, tradition, unusual customs), えいが (film, glory, luxury, movie, splendour). (various references) | |
Manx | reeaghtys, ard-ooasley, ard-ooashlid. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ajestymay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | majestade (glory, grandiosity, royalty, sire). (various references) | |
Romanian | maiestate (grandeur, loftiness, mightiness, stateliness), mãreţie (brilliance, brilliancy, elevation, gorgeousness, grandeur, greatness, height, loftiness, magnificence, mightiness, splendor, splendour). (various references) | |
Russian | величество. (various references) | |
Scottish | mórachd (dignity), mòralachd (honour). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | visočanstvo (highness, mightiness), veličanstvo (splendor, splendour). (various references) | |
Spanish | majestad (queenliness). (various references) | |
Swedish | majestät. (various references) | |
Thai | ความสง่าผ่าเผย, ความมีอำนาจสูงสุ". (various references) | |
Turkish | majeste, heybet (grandeur, stateliness), haşmet (awe, stateliness, sublimity), görkem (array, bravery, brightness, brilliance, brilliancy, effulgence, glory, gorgeousness, grandeur, magnificence, pomp, pomposity, radiance, resplendence, splendidness, splendor, splendour, state, stateliness, sumptuousness). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | величність (excellence, loftiness), величавість (queenliness). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | vẻ uy nghi (impressiveness), vẻ oai vệ (imperialness, impressiveness), vẻ oai nghiêm (imposingness), vẻ đường bệ tâu Bệ hạ, tâu Ho ng đế. (various references) | |
Welsh | mawredd (grandeur, greatness), mawr.hydi. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | maiestas, maiestate, maiestatem, maiestates, maiestatis. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Job Chapter 37, Verse 22 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Apo borra nefh crusaugounta epi toutoiV megalh h doxa kai timh pantokratoroV |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Ab aquilone aurum venit et ad Deum formidolosa laudatio |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Fro the north shal come gold, and fro God dredful preising. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Fair weather cometh from the north: with God is terrible majesty. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | A bright light comes out of the north; God's glory is greatly to be feared. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Job Chapter 37, Verse 22 |
| Albanian | Koha e bukur vjen nga veriu, por rreth Perëndisë kemi një madhështi të hatashme. |
| Cebuano | Gikan sa amihanan mogula ang bulawanong kahayag: Sa Dios anaa ang makalilisang kagamhanan. |
| Croatian | Sa sjevera k'o zlato je bljesnulo: velièanstvom strašnim Bog se odjenu! |
| Danish | fra Norden kommer en Lysning. Over Gud er der frygtelig Højhed, |
| Dutch | Als van het noorden het goud komt; maar bij God is een vreselijke majesteit! |
| Finnish | Pohjoisesta tulee kultainen hohde; Jumalan yllä on peljättävä valtasuuruus. |
| French | Le septentrion le rend éclatant comme l`or. Oh! que la majesté de Dieu est redoutable! |
| German | Von Mitternacht kommt Gold; um Gott her ist schrecklicher Glanz. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Sinar keemasan muncul di utara, dan kemuliaan Allah mengagumkan hati kita. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | apabila emas itu datang dari sebelah utara; maka pada Allah adalah kemuliaan yang hebat lagi. |
| Italian | Dal nord giunge un aureo chiarore, intorno a Dio è tremenda maest . |
| Maori | E ahu mai ana i te hauraro te aho ano he koura; kei te Atua te kororia whakawehi. |
| Norwegian | Fra Norden kommer gull; om Gud er der en forferdende herlighet. |
| Portuguese | Do norte vem o áureo esplendor; em Deus há tremenda majestade. |
| Rumanian | dela miazq-noapte ne vine aurora, wi ce knfricowatq este mqreyia care knconjoarq pe Dumnezeu! |
| Spanish | Del norte viene un dorado esplendor; alrededor de Dios hay una temible majestad. |
| Swedish | I guldglans kommer han från norden. Ja, Gud är höljd i fruktansvärt majestät; |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Misspellings | |
"Majesty" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: magesty, Maiestie, maiesty, majest, Majeste, majesto, Majstey, Manesty, Mavesyn, mayest. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "majesty" (pronounced ma"justē) |
| 4 | -u s t ē | amnesty, dishonesty, dynasty, honesty, modesty, travesty. |
| 3 | -s t ē | angioplasty, Beastie, bloodthirsty, Christie, Christy, crusty, dusty, feisty, frosty, gusty, hasty, lusty, misty, musty, nasty, rusty, sixty, tasty, testy, thirsty, trusty, twisty. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-j-m-s-t-y" | |
-1 letter: jetsam, mateys, mayest, steamy. | |
-2 letters: etyma, mates, matey, mayst, meats, meaty, satem, seamy, steam, tajes, tames, teams, yeast. | |
-3 letters: ates, ayes, east, easy, eats, etas, eyas, jams, jays, jest, jets, maes, mast, mate, mats, mays, meat, mesa, meta, same, sate, seam, seat, seta, stay, stem, stey, stye, tame, tams, team, teas, tyes, yams. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-j-m-s-t-y" | |
+5 letters: majestically. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Sounds | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Historic 11. Quotations: Fiction 12. Quotations: Non-fiction | 13. Quotations: Spoken 14. Quotations: Speeches 15. Usage Frequency 16. Expressions | 17. Expressions: Internet 18. Translations: Modern 19. Translations: Ancient 20. Bible Trace | 21. Derivations 22. Rhymes 23. Anagrams 24. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
