-
Realm
A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a kingdom or other monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire.
The Old French word reaume, modern French royaume, was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century. The word supposedly derives from medieval Latin regalimen, from regalis, of or belonging to a rex (king). The word rex itself is derived from the Latin verb regere, which means “to rule”. Thus the literal meaning of the word realm is the territory of a ruler, traditionally a monarch (emperor, king, grand duke, prince, etc.).
“Realm” is particularly used for those states whose name includes the word kingdom (for example, the United Kingdom), as elegant variation, to avoid clumsy repetition of the word in a sentence (for example, “The Queen’s realm, the United Kingdom…”). It is also useful to describe those countries whose monarchs are called something other than “king” or “queen”; for example, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a realm but not a kingdom, since its monarch holds the title Grand Duke rather than King.
The term may commonly also be used to describe any one of the “Commonwealth realms”, which are kingdoms in their own right and share the same person as monarch, though they are fully independent of each other.
More broadly, a “realm” may encompass territories that are subject to a monarch, yet are not a physical part of his or her “kingdom”; for example, the Cook Islands and Niue are considered parts of the Realm of New Zealand, although they are not part of New Zealand proper.
Realm may also be used metaphorically to refer to an area of knowledge, expertise or habitat within which an individual or denizen is pre-eminent or dominant, e.g., “Shakespeare’s realm was English drama,” or “A lion’s realm is the jungle”.
-
Realm (noun)
An abstract sphere of influence, real or imagined.
-
Realm (noun)
The domain of a certain abstraction.
-
Realm (noun)
A scope of operation in networking or security.
-
Realm (noun)
A territory or state, as ruled by a specific power, especially by a king.
-
Realm (noun)
An otherworldly dimension or domain — magical, ethereal, or otherwise — usually in reference to one ruled or created by a mystical character.
-
Kingdom (noun)
A realm having a king and/or queen as its actual or nominal sovereign.
-
Kingdom (noun)
A realm, region, or conceptual space where something is dominant.
“the kingdom of thought”
“the kingdom of the dead”
-
Kingdom (noun)
A rank in the classification of organisms, below domain and above phylum; a taxon at that rank (e.g. the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom).
-
Kingdom (noun)
a country, state, or territory ruled by a king or queen
“the Kingdom of the Netherlands”
-
Kingdom (noun)
a realm associated with or regarded as being under the control of a particular person or thing
“the kingdom of dreams”
-
Kingdom (noun)
the spiritual reign or authority of God.
-
Kingdom (noun)
the rule of God or Christ in a future age.
-
Kingdom (noun)
heaven as the abode of God and of the faithful after death.
-
Kingdom (noun)
each of the three traditional divisions (animal, vegetable, and mineral) in which natural objects have conventionally been classified.
-
Kingdom (noun)
the highest category in taxonomic classification.