realis

Forms

reālis (neuter reāle, adverb realiter); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin rēs (“thing, matter”) + -ālis,^[1][2][3] a post-classical formation.^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's first example is in Marius Victorinus' commentary on Cicero's De inventione, where some writers are said to have called the question whether a deed was done the “real” issue, since it concerns the thing itself.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In Christian writers it meant “real, actual” as opposed to figurative.^[3] Medieval British sources contrast what is realis with what is merely spoken (vocalis, verbalis), speak of real friendship, and use it of binding agreements.^[4] In scholastic philosophy it meant “existing in fact, objective”,^[1][2] and a realist was a realis.^[1] It was also a legal term for what concerns things, especially immovable property,^[1] and through the language of law it passed into Old French reel, French réel and Old Provençal real.^[3][1] English real comes from the Old French word in the early 14th century.^[5]

Timeline

• first half of 4th century AD – Marius Victorinus uses it in rhetoric.^[3][2]
• 1298 – A letter in the Canterbury register speaks of a “more real” clearing of delays.^[4]
• early 14th century – English borrows real from Old French.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Real, actual, existing in fact.^[3][6][1]
2. Concerning the thing itself; in law, relating to things, especially immovable property.^[1][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) Shown in deeds rather than words, as opposed to vocalis or verbalis.^[4]
4. (Medieval Latin) Of an agreement: binding.^[4]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) A realist.^[1]

Word family

• reālitās

Related words

• English real

Usage notes

Medieval Latin also has rēālis as a spelling of rēgālis “royal”, a different word.^[2]

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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson