English
realism
Realism comes from English real, and goes back to Old French ree.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ree
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500real
- English1500–presentsame form
- Englishearliest quotation 1978realism
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ree
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500real
- English1500–presentsame form
- Englishearliest quotation 1978realism
Earliest quotation: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “Lenin in fact confused epistemological realism with materialism (he…”
A compound of real + -ism
Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís ‘wealth, goods’
…
Latin rēs ‘thing, matter’
Late Latin reālis ‘actual’
Old French reel
Middle English real ‘real, true’
English real
Linked words
through Middle English real
through English real
Today it means
noun A concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French ree / realism