Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The quality or condition of being high.
  • noun Used with His, Her, or Your as a title and form of address for a prince or princess.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state of being high, in any of the senses of that word.
  • noun A title of honor given to princes of the blood; also, in some German states, a title given to the reigning dukes or grand dukes and their heirs apparent: used with a possessive pronoun, his, her, your: as, his royal highness; her imperial highness.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The state of being high; elevation; loftiness.
  • noun A title of honor given to kings, princes, or other persons of rank.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun the state of being high

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the quality of being high or lofty
  • noun (Your Highness or His Highness or Her Highness) title used to address a royal person
  • noun a high degree (of amount or force etc.)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • But long after him the term highness was applied to kings of France; and some letters to Henry III. are still extant in which he is addressed by that title.

    A Philosophical Dictionary 2007

  • If his royal highness is soooo good without a teleprompter and pledged trensparency, why not allow the comittee meetings on the health care bills be braodcast on CSPAN?

    Think Progress » Republicans dismayed by Obama’s strong performance, say it was a ‘mistake’ to let cameras roll. 2010

  • "Your highness is in his twenty-second year," replied he.

    An Island Story: A History of England for Boys and Girls Henrietta Elizabeth 1920

  • Following Bismarck's lead, both of them had dropped the pretence of calling me "highness" -- Bersonin's "theory", as Bismarck had called it, being well enough in my training period, I suppose, but now considered unnecessary.

    Royal Flash Fraser, George MacDonald, 1925- 1970

  • Since your highness is a field marshal, I'm not sure who your superiors are, exactly ...

    Watershed 2010

  • Other sovereigns were called your highness, your serenity, your grace.

    A Philosophical Dictionary 2007

  • It is of little consequence for one man to be called his highness and another his holiness, but it is hard for me to be the servant of another.

    A Philosophical Dictionary 2007

  • Distressed Duenna, on whose behalf I bear a message to your highness, which is that your magnificence will be pleased to grant her leave and permission to come and tell you her trouble, which is one of the strangest and most wonderful that the mind most familiar with trouble in the world could have imagined; but first she desires to know if the valiant and never vanquished knight, Don

    Don Quixote 2002

  • Since your highness is a field marshal, I'm not sure who your superiors are, exactly ...

    Flashman And The Tiger Fraser, George MacDonald, 1925- 1999

  • France returned bearing orders to put his so-called highness in confinement.

    Celebrated Claimants from Perkin Warbeck to Arthur Orton Anonymous

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