# Realm > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Realm > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Realm.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realm > Source revision: 1353136180 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Community or territory}} {{other uses}} {{mi| {{one source|date=February 2026}} {{more sources|date=February 2026}} {{original research|date=February 2026}} }} A '''realm''' is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a 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. ==Etymology== {{wiktionary|realm}} The Old French word {{lang|fro|reaume}}, modern French {{lang|fr|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](/source/Latin) {{lang|la|regalimen}}, from {{lang|la|regalis}}, of or belonging to a {{lang|la|rex}} {{gloss|king}}.{{EB1911|wstitle=Realm|volume=22|page=941|inline=1}} The word ''rex'' itself is derived from the Latin verb {{lang|la|regere}}, which means {{gloss|to rule}}. Thus the literal meaning of the word ''realm'' is {{gloss|the territory of a ruler}}, traditionally a monarch (emperor, king, grand duke, prince, etc.). ==Usage== [[File:Portuguese_empire_1800.png|thumb|The [United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves](/source/United_Kingdom_of_Portugal%2C_Brazil_and_the_Algarves) with all its colonies. Example of a kingdom out of an empire. (Extinct country that had a royal throne)]] [[File:Bavaria in the German Reich (1871).svg|thumb|[Bavaria](/source/Kingdom_of_Bavaria), a kingdom that was attached to an empire]] "Realm" is particularly used for those states whose name includes the word ''kingdom'' (for example, the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom)), as [elegant variation](/source/elegant_variation), to avoid clumsy repetition of the word in a sentence (for example, "The King'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](/source/Grand_Duchy) of [Luxembourg](/source/Luxembourg) is a realm but not a [kingdom](/source/monarchy), since its monarch holds the title Grand Duke rather than King. The term may commonly be used to describe any of the "[Commonwealth realm](/source/Commonwealth_realm)s", which are kingdoms in their own right, sharing the same person as monarch, but each fully sovereign. More broadly, a "realm" may encompass territories that are subject to a monarch, yet are not a physical part of their "kingdom"; for example, the [Cook Islands](/source/Cook_Islands) and [Niue](/source/Niue) are considered parts of the [Realm of New Zealand](/source/Realm_of_New_Zealand), although they are not part of New Zealand proper. Realm may also be used [metaphor](/source/metaphor)ically to refer to an area of knowledge, expertise or habitat within which an individual or [denizen](/source/Residency_(domicile)) is pre-eminent or dominant, e.g., "Shakespeare's realm was English drama," or "A lion's realm is the jungle". == See also == * [Biogeographic realm](/source/Biogeographic_realm), a concept in biogeography * [Demesne](/source/Demesne) (or "Domain"), the term for the part of the realm controlled directly rather than via tenants. * [Empire](/source/Empire) * [Kingdom](/source/Monarchy) * ''[Reich](/source/Reich)'', the German word for "realm" ==References== {{reflist}} {{Authority control}} Category:Monarchy --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Realm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realm) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realm?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.