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realize

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Etymology and origin of the English word realize

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1611 Cotgrave More words from the 17th century
Borrowed from
Middle French réaliser
Ultimate origin
Middle French réaliser
Derivations

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈrɪə.laɪz/[1]
  • US: /ˈriː.ə.laɪz/[1]

Forms

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French réaliser (“to make real”),[2][3][4] from real (“actual”) and the suffix -iser,[3][4] from the same source as real.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To bring into real existence: 1611, in Cotgrave's Dictionary,[3][6] the 1610s in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

“To present vividly as real” in the mind is from 1646.[6] “To convert property into money” is first recorded in 1727–41,[3] and “to obtain as profit” in 1753.[3][2] The sense “to understand clearly, grasp the reality of” is from 1775,[3][2][6] and in the US “to experience at first hand” from 1776.[6] In music, completing a sparsely notated piece is from 1911.[6] Realization is also from Cotgrave (1611).[3]

Timeline

  • 1611 – to make real.[3][6]
  • 1646 – to present vividly to the mind.[6]
  • 1727–41 – to convert into money.[3]
  • 1753 – to obtain as profit.[3][2]
  • 1775 – to understand clearly.[3][2][6]
  • 1911 – in music, to fill out a score.[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To understand completely or correctly; to become aware of.
  2. To make real; to fulfil: realize an ambition.
  3. To obtain as a profit; to sell for: the house realized a good price.
  4. To exchange goods or holdings for money.

Word family

  • realizable
  • realizer
  • realizability
  • realizably
  • unrealized
  • hyperrealize
  • realization
  • unrealize

Usage notes

The spelling realise is also used in British English.[1][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Realize.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/realize. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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