King's English

See also: king's English

English

WOTD – 23 April 2025

Etymology

From King +‎ -’s +‎ English, possibly modelled after king’s coin (“(obsolete) image of a king on a coin; (archaic or historical) coin officially issued during a king’s reign”): see the 1553 quotation.^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /kɪŋz‿ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/
Audio (General American): (file)
Rhymes: -ɪŋɡlɪʃ
Hyphenation: King's Engl‧ish

Proper noun

King 's English (uncountable)

(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.
Coordinate term: Queen's English
- 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 Graftonus, […], →OCLC, folio 86, recto:
  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.
- 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] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], page 42, column 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.
- 1823, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter XIII, in The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: Charles Wiley; […], →OCLC, page 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 […]?["]
- 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 Again”, in The Efficiency Expert, New York, N.Y.: Charter Books, Charter Communications, 1966, →OCLC, part 2, page 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.
- 2006 November 5, James Gleick, “Cyber-neologoliferation”, in The New York Times Magazine‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 3 December 2024:
  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, Queen’s English is commonly used instead.

Alternative forms

king's English

Translations

spoken or written English regarded as used and safeguarded by the King of England

Finnish: kuninkaan englanti
Hungarian: helyes/hibátlan/kifogástalan angolság (literally “correct/flawless/impeccable [command of] English”)
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

References

^ “King’s English, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2025; “King’s English, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
^ “king’s coin, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2025.