King's English

king's English English 2025 April 23 Alternative forms en king's English Etymology thumb|King Charles III delivering the speech from the throne—in the King’s English—in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on July 17, 2024. Accompanying him is Queen Camilla. en ine-pro *ǵenh₁- *h₂enk- From en King -'s -’s English 1 exocentric, possibly modelled after en king's coin. See the quotation from 1553.King’s English n 1167634947 March 2025 1; King’s English nking’s coin n 6992675666 March 2025 Pronunciation en /kɪŋz‿ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/ RP,GA en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-King's English.wav GA en ɪŋɡlɪʃ 3 en King's Engl ish Proper noun King's English - en chiefly England Often preceded by the: spoken or written English regarded as used and safeguarded by the King of England; standard English characterized by correct grammar and what is thought of as proper usage of words and expressions, and (when spoken) formal British pronunciation. en Queen's English en 1553 January Thomas Wilson The Third Boke. Foure Partes Belongyng to Elocution. The Arte of Rhetorique, for the Vse of All Suche as are Studious of Eloquence,Sette forth in English, by Thomas Wilson. [London] Richardus Graftonus,typographus Regius excudebat. folio 86, recto https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-arte-of-rhetorique-_wilson-thomas_1553/page/n182/mode/1up 1203306725 Some ſeke ſo farre for outlãdiſhe outlandish Engliſhe, that thei forget altogether their mothers lãguage language. And I dare ſwere this, if ſome of their mothers were aliue, thei were not able to tell, what thei ſay, & yet theſe fine Engliſhe clerkes, wil ſaie thei ſpeake in their mother tongue, if a mã man ſhould charge thẽ them for coũterfeityng counterfeiting the kynges Engliſh. I iv 42 1 What, Iohn Rugby, I pray thee goe to the Caſement, and ſee if you can ſee my Maſter, Maſter Docter Caius comming: if he doe (I'faith) and finde any body in the houſe; here vvill be an old abuſing of Gods patience, and the Kings Engliſh. I XIII 184 "Spake it out, man," exclaimed the landlady; "spake it out in king's English; what for should ye be talking Indian in a room full of christian folks?" 1966 In Again-Out Again 102 I venture to say that in a fifteen-minute conversation he would commit more horrible crimes against the king's English than even that new stable-boy of yours. en 5 November 2006 w:James Gleick Cyber-neologoliferation w:The New York Times Magazine https://web.archive.org/web/20241203060301/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/magazine/05cyber.html New York, N.Y. w:The New York Times Company 0028-7822 762261046 The O.E.D. Oxford English Dictionary is unlike any other dictionary, in any language. It wants every word, all the lingo: idioms and euphemisms, sacred or profane, dead or alive, the King's English or the street's. Usage notes The term King’s English is used when the reigning monarch is male. When the monarch is female, en Queen's English Queen’s English is commonly used instead. Translations spoken or written English regarded as used and safeguarded by the King of England Finnish: fi kuninkaan englanti Hungarian: hu helyes/hibátlan/kifogástalan angolság correct/​flawless/​impeccable [command of] English Macedonian: mk References Further reading Received Pronunciation King’s English (disambiguation) en noun-noun compound nouns en Dialects English