/ɹɛlm/, /rɛːm/, /rɛlm/
OriginFrom 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.
- archaic, rhetoricA 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.”
“1913, Leslie Alexander Toke, Catholic Encyclopedia, "St. Dunstan",
Then seeing his life was threatened he fled the realm and crossed over to Flanders, […]”
- archaic, rhetoricAn otherworldly dimension or domain — magical, ethereal, or otherwise.
- archaic, obsolete, rhetoricThe spiritual state of which God is the head; the Kingdom of Heaven.
- also, figurativelyA sphere of knowledge or of influence; a domain.
“the realm of physics”
“the realm of corporate governance”
“Why should we despise anything in the realm of Buddha?”
- A primary zoogeographical division of the earth's surface.
- A taxonomic rank in the phylogeny of viruses, higher than kingdoms.
- archaicA region or zone forming part of a cosmological system.
Formsrealms(plural) · realme(alternative)