Etymologically
Log in

reale

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 20:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

reale1 real

Pronunciation

Forms

reale m or f by sense (plural reali)[1]

Etymology

The adjective “real” is borrowed from Medieval Latin reālis (“relating to the thing”), a term of scholastic teaching formed from Latin rēs (“thing”).[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary calls the Latin word Late Latin.[1] It was opposed now to “personal”, now to “apparent”, and in the Romantic age to “ideal”.[2] The same Latin word gave French réel and Spanish real.[3]

The Latin noun first meant “goods, wealth”, as the cognate Sanskrit रयि (rayí, “property, goods”) shows; de Vaan reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís (“wealth, goods”).[3][6][1] Through its accusative it gave French rien and Occitan ren, first “something”, then “nothing” in negative contexts, and it survives in Sardinian rese (“kind; beast”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Giovanni Villani, before 1348, in the sense “pertaining to a thing”.[2][4] Villani writes that the returning Guelph exiles “promisono le fazioni reali e personali” (“promised the services due on property and in person”).[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense “existing in objective reality” is first dated 1583 (Giovanni Andrea Dalla Croce), and the noun il reale “what exists” appears in Rosmini before 1855.[2] Numero reale in mathematics is in the Zingarelli of 1942.[2]

Many derivatives came through French or English: realizzare “to carry out” (1759, Algarotti) follows French réaliser, and its sense “to realize, understand” (1938) follows English realize;[2][3] realismo in literature reflects French réalisme.[2][3] In Tuscany reale can also mean “frank, sincere”.[5][9]

Timeline

  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses reale “pertaining to property”.[2]
  • 1583 – Giovanni Andrea Dalla Croce uses it for what really exists.[2]
  • 1759 – Algarotti uses realizzare.[2]
  • Before 1855 – Rosmini uses il reale for what exists.[2]
  • 1938 – Realizzare “to understand” is noted as an English-influenced use.[2]
  • 1942 – Numero reale is recorded in the Zingarelli.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Real, actually existing or having happened: È una storia reale, non un romanzo.[4][10][5][1]
  2. Actual, effective: Vorrei capire le ragioni reali della sua scelta.[4][10][11]
  3. (philosophy) Existing in itself, independently of the knowing mind.[4][10]
  4. (law) Relating to a thing or property: diritto reale.[4][10][11]
  5. (economics) Measured by purchasing power, as opposed to nominal: salario reale.[4][11][12]
  6. (mathematics) Of a number, rational or irrational.[4][5][11]
  7. (Tuscan) Frank, sincere.[4][5][9]

Noun

  1. Il reale: reality, what really exists.[4][11][5]

Word family

  • realtà
  • realmente
  • realismo
  • realista
  • realistico
  • realizzare
  • realizzabile
  • realizzazione
  • realizzatore
  • realizzo
  • irreale
  • irrealtà
  • surreale

reale2 royal

Pronunciation

Forms

reale m or f by sense (plural reali)[1]

Etymology

The adjective “royal” is borrowed from Old French reial, from Latin rēgālis (“royal”), a derivative of rēx (“king”).[3][10][12][5] GRADIT and the GDLI derive it from the Latin word with the influence of the Old French one, DEI calls it semi-learned, and Wiktionary leaves open whether it was borrowed or inherited.[4][13][14][1] It is a doublet of regale.[1]

The Latin adjective gave French royal, Old Occitan reial, Catalan real, Spanish real and Portuguese real; in Spanish and Portuguese the word is also the name of a coin.[15][16]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Dante (1304–1308), in the sense “worthy of a king”.[4][17] In the Inferno he says of a great figure “quanto aspetto reale ancor ritene” (“how royal a bearing he still keeps”).[10][12]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio speaks of the casa reale, and in Old Italian reale as a noun was a prince of the blood;[14][8] Carducci used i reali for the king and queen.[14][8] From the 16th century the word named a river that flows straight into the sea and a large paper size, and in 1569 the commander's galley, la Reale.[14] German took the naval word as Reale in 1728.[17]

As a noun reale was the gold coin struck by Charles I of Anjou in the 13th century, and later several gold and silver coins of the Aragonese and Spanish kingdoms, after Spanish real.[14][18][4] The adjective also names the largest or finest kind in many animal and food names, such as aquila reale (golden eagle) and pappa reale (royal jelly).[10][9]

Timeline

  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses reale “worthy of a king”.[4][17]
  • 13th century – The coin reale is struck by Charles I of Anjou.[14]
  • 1569 – La Reale names the commander's galley.[14]
  • 1596 – English reale “royal” is recorded.[17]
  • 1728 – German Reale “flagship galley” is recorded.[17]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of a king, royal: la famiglia reale.[4][10][5][1]
  2. (literary) Worthy of a king, regal.[4][10][5]
  3. Outstanding in size or quality, in names of animals and things: aquila reale.[4][10][9]

Noun

  1. I reali: the king and queen, the royal family.[4][5][12]
  2. (historical) A gold or silver coin of the Angevin, Aragonese and Spanish kingdoms.[4][14][1]
  3. (historical) The flagship galley of a fleet commanded by a king or viceroy.[1][14]
  4. (zoology) The fertile pair in a colony of termites and similar insects.[4][5]

Usage notes

In Lombardy reale is also a cut of beef from the neck, named from the royal adjective as a prime cut.[19][4] DEI records a separate dialect word reale, a part of a fishing net, from Latin rēte (“net”).[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 606
  8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 602
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3215
  15. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  16. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  17. ^ a b c d e Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  18. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 605
  19. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 608