A realm ( /ˈrɛlm/) is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules; it is commonly used to describe a kingdom or other monarchical or dynastic state.
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).
"Realm" is particularly used for those states whose name includes the word kingdom (for example, the United Kingdom), 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.
"Realm" is also frequently used to refer to territories that are "under" a monarch, yet are not a physical part of his or her "kingdom" (e.g. the Realm of Sweden, or to Holstein, which until the Second War of Schleswig was an important part of the Danish King's realm stretching to the border of Hamburg, although not a part of the Danish Kingdom). Similarly, the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau are considered parts of the Realm of New Zealand, although they are not part of New Zealand proper. Likewise, the Faroe Islands and Greenland remain parts of the Danish Realm.
Realm may commonly also be used to describe the Commonwealth realms which all are kingdoms in their own right and share a common monarch, though they are fully independent of each other.
Read more about Realm: See Also
Other articles related to "realm":
... referred to as life after death or the Hereafter) is the concept of a realm, or the realm itself (whether physical or transcendental), in which an essential part of an individual ... views, this continued existence often takes place in a spiritual realm, and in other popular views, the individual may be reborn into this world and begin ... may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or Otherworld ...
... Empire Biogeographical realms Commonwealth Realms. ...
... deceased departed on a voyage to the realm of the dead, a realm which could be situated inside the mountain, on the other side of the sea, in the heavens or in the underworld ... whether the dead would remain for some time in the grave and later depart for the realm of the dead, what the purpose of the grave goods was, or if the ship in the barrow was to ...
... The Psycho Realm is the first album of the hip hop group Psycho Realm ... At this time the group consisted of Jacken, Duke, and B-Real ...
... Lirr dwells within the city of Polykeptolon in the realm of Olympian, or Greek, pantheon ... Polykeptolon is a realm of scholars and philosophers who keep slaves to deal with the gross demands of the body while the upper class concentrates on the nature of the ...
Famous quotes containing the word realm:
“The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public, he offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin—and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)
“Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
—Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
“While you are divided from us by geographical lines, which are imaginary, and by a language which is not the same, you have not come to an alien people or land. In the realm of the heart, in the domain of the mind, there are no geographical lines dividing the nations.”
—Anna Howard Shaw (1847–1919)