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realize

Etymology and origin of the English word realize

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1611, Cotgrave
Borrowed from
Middle French réaliser
Ultimate origin
Middle French (réaliser)

Pronunciation

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

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 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, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/realize. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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