Realm

<h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2>

Look up <i>realm</i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

<p>The Old French word <i>reaume</i>, modern French <i>royaume</i>, was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century. The word supposedly derives from medieval <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> <i>regalimen</i>, from <i>regalis</i>, of or belonging to a <i>rex</i> 'king'.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> The word <i>rex</i> itself is derived from the Latin verb <i>regere</i>, which means 'to rule'. Thus the literal meaning of the word <i>realm</i> is 'the territory of a ruler', traditionally a monarch (emperor, king, grand duke, prince, etc.).
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<h2 id="usage">Usage</h2>

<p>"Realm" is particularly used for those states whose name includes the word <i>kingdom</i> (for example, the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a>), as <a href="/facts/Elegant_variation/KMJCbdwn">elegant variation</a>, to avoid clumsy repetition of the word in a sentence (for example, "The King's realm, the United Kingdom..."). It is also useful to describe those countries whose monarchs are called something other than "king" or "queen"; for example, the <a href="/facts/Grand_Duchy/zd1paRaX">Grand Duchy</a> of <a href="/facts/Luxembourg/vRN04l7f">Luxembourg</a> is a realm but not a <a href="/facts/Monarchy/Kg1vY7tt">kingdom</a>, since its monarch holds the title Grand Duke rather than King. 
</p><p>The term may commonly be used to describe any of the "<a href="/facts/Commonwealth_realm/JeuLfn9q">Commonwealth realms</a>", which are kingdoms in their own right and share the same person as monarch, though they are fully independent of each other.
</p><p>More broadly, a "realm" may encompass territories that are subject to a monarch, yet are not a physical part of his or her "kingdom"; for example, the <a href="/facts/Cook_Islands/kmvk0Yed">Cook Islands</a> and <a href="/facts/Niue/BV3kv4ug">Niue</a> are considered parts of the <a href="/facts/Realm_of_New_Zealand/V48oWydA">Realm of New Zealand</a>, although they are not part of New Zealand proper.
</p><p>Realm may also be used <a href="/facts/Metaphor/xwsLaqJI">metaphorically</a> to refer to an area of knowledge, expertise or habitat within which an individual or <a href="/facts/Residency_(domicile)/K7Ba7Hs2">denizen</a> is pre-eminent or dominant, e.g., "Shakespeare's realm was English drama," or "A lion's realm is the jungle".
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Biogeographic_realm/k4VUtAbe">Biogeographic realm</a>, a concept in biogeography</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Demesne/vmHJPpbp">Demesne</a> (or "Domain"), the term for the part of the realm controlled directly rather than via tenants.</li></ul>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Empire/dsjWjBBd">Empire</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Monarchy/Kg1vY7tt">Kingdom</a></li>
<li><i><a href="/facts/Reich/1TXQwrfj">Reich</a></i>, the German word for "realm"</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Realm". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 941. <a href="/wiki/Public_domain" target="_blank">/wiki/Public_domain</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Realm open-in-new

Realm