King's English
Syllables: King's Engl·ishUK/kɪŋz‿ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/
King's English proper noun: 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.
Proper noun (1)
King's English (uncountable)
- 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.
- 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...1553 January, Thomas Wilson, “The Third Boke. Foure Partes Belongyng to Elocution.”, in The Arte of Rhetorique, for the Vse of All Suche as are Studious of Eloquence, […], [London]: Richardus...
- 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.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
Proper noun (2) capitalized: king's English
the king's English (uncountable)
- Alternative letter-case form of King's English.
- "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[…]?["]1823, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter XIII, in The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), New York, N.Y.: Charles Wiley; […], →OCLC, page 184
- 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.1919 (date written), Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Efficiency Expert”, in Argosy All-Story Weekly, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Company, published October 1921, →OCLC; republished as “In Again—Out...
Forms of King's English
| alternative form | king's English |
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Origin of King's English
From King + -’s + English, possibly modelled after king's coin. See the quotation from 1553.
Words that rhyme with King's English
Questions about King's English
- What does King's English mean?
- King's English means 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.
- What part of speech is King's English?
- King's English is a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce King's English?
- King's English is pronounced /kɪŋz‿ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/ (UK).
Words near King's English in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: King's English (page history and authors); king's English (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-King's English.wav.
Cite this entry: “King's English.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/king%27s_english. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.