Etymologically
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realis

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [reˈaː.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [reˈaː.lis][1]

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

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