reality (English)

Where does "reality" come from?

The word reality traces back to the Latin term rēs, meaning 'thing' or 'matter', which itself evolved from the Proto-Indo-European root for wealth or goods. It entered English via Middle French and Medieval Latin, initially serving as a legal term for fixed property in the mid-16th century. By the mid-1600s, the meaning expanded from mere physical possessions to the modern philosophical concept of the state of being real.

Full etymology tree

• reality (English), 'The state of being actual or real; realness.'
  • inherited realité (Middle French)
    • inherited reālitās (Latin), 'reality'
      • derived reālis (Latin), 'real'
        • derived rēs (Latin), 'thing, object, stuff'
          • inherited *reis (Proto-Italic), 'thing, matter'
            • inherited *reh₁ís (Proto-Indo-European), 'wealth, goods'
        • suffix -ālis (Latin), 'Suffixed to nouns or numerals creating adjectives of relationship.'
      • suffix -tās (Latin), '-ty, -dom, -hood, -ness, -ship; Used to form feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being.'

Direct ancestors

• réalité (French)
• realitas (Latin)
• realis (Latin)
• real (English)
• realty (English)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris