Realms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Domains or territories that emphasize unique qualities
2. Distinct areas of existence characterized by specific themes or elements
3. A kingdom or territory ruled by a sovereign ; a particular branch or domain of knowledge, experience, or interest

Etymology: The word "realm" comes to English from Old French "reaume" or "realme", meaning "kingdom", and its ancestry is murky. Scholars cite a postulated Late Latin or Vulgar Latin form "rēgālimen", a blend of "regimen" (rule, government) with "rēgālis" (royal), which would have meant "domain" or "kingdom". No such form is attested in surviving texts, so it remains a reconstruction rather than a documented ancestor. The English spelling with the silent-looking "l" is a curiosity. Early Middle English wrote the word as "rewme" or "reaume", without the "l" at all. The "l" appears in later spellings, and the modern spelling had largely taken hold by around 1600. The sounded "l" in today's pronunciation is either a spelling pronunciation, where speakers pronounce what they see written, or a nod to the Latin-influenced etymology, and the grammarian Otto Jespersen analyzed this shift in his historical grammar of English.

Synonyms: domains, areas, fields, zones, territories

Antonyms: chaos, disorder, anarchy, absence, void