English - Etymology
[circa 1540] From French réalité (“quality of being real”), Middle French realité (“property, possession”), from Medieval Latin realitas, from Late Latin realis (“real”). Recorded since 1550 as a legal term in the sense of “fixed property” (compare real estate, realty); the sense “real existence” is attested from 1647.
English - Noun
reality (usually uncountable, plural realities)
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The state of being actual or real.
- The reality of the crash scene on TV dawned upon him only when he saw the victim was no actor but his friend.
- Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
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1915, George A. Birmingham, Gossamer, chapterI:
- As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish, […]. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get. […] I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.
- A real entity, event or other fact.
- The entirety of all that is real.
- An individual observer's own subjective perception of that which is real.
- (obsolete) Loyalty; devotion.
- (law, obsolete) Realty; real estate.