realm
nounUK, US /ɹɛlm/ · /rɛːm/
Etymology From Middle English rewme, realme, reaume, from Old French reaume, realme, reialme (“kingdom”), of unclear origins. A postulated *rēgālimen (“domain, kingdom”), Late Latin or Vulgar Latin cross of regimen with rēgālis is usually cited. The modern spelling predominates from around 1600. The modern pronunciation with /l/ is either a spelling pronunciation or influenced by the etymology.
7 senses
- 1A territory or state, as ruled by an absolute authority…
- 2An otherworldly dimension or domain — magical, ethereal…
- 3The spiritual state of which God is the head; the…
- 4A sphere of knowledge or of influence; a domain.
- 5A primary zoogeographical division of the earth's surface.
- 6A taxonomic rank in the phylogeny of viruses, higher…
- 7A region or zone forming part of a cosmological system.
Law Archaic, Rhetoric A territory or state, as ruled by an absolute authority, especially by a king; a kingdom.
- And, of this island realm, he and his companion were the undisputed sovereigns.1874, Horatio Alger, “Chapter XXXI”, in Brave and Bold:
- 1913, Leslie Alexander Toke, Catholic Encyclopedia, "St. Dunstan", Then seeing his life was threatened he fled the realm and crossed over to Flanders, […]
Also, Figuratively A sphere of knowledge or of influence; a domain.
- the realm of physics
- the realm of corporate governance
4 more examples
- Why should we despise anything in the realm of Buddha?1907, Tada Kanai, “The World and How to Pass Through It”, in Arthur Lloyd, transl., Seven Buddhist Sermons:
- One thing more which the scientific man does is to accord primacy to that realm of truth which is primary in importance.1922, Judson Eber Conant, “Truth Must be Classified Scientifically”, in The Church The Schools and Evolution:
- At home in Moscow, Mikhail Sergeyevitch Gorbachev, who had launched a campaign to rejuvenate the Soviet realm […]2006 November 22, Christian Neef, “Diary of a Collapsing Superpower”, in Spiegel Magazine:
- In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19:
Biology, Microbiology, Natural sciences, Taxonomy, Virology A taxonomic rank in the phylogeny of viruses, higher than kingdoms.
Archaic A region or zone forming part of a cosmological system.
- Derived terms
30 terms
abjuration of the realm, abjure the realm, abstract realm, coin of the realm, Commonwealth realm, custom of the realm, Eastern Realm, experience realm, floristic realm, hell realm, Ice Realm, Indomalayan realm, interrealm, in the realm of shades, Northern Realm, Oriental realm, peer of the realm, realmless, realmlessness, realmlet, realm of fantasy, realm of possibility, realm of the dead, Schengen realm, shadow realm, Snow Realm, Southern Realm, underrealm, unrealmed, Western Realm