Etymograph

English

realisation

Realisation comes from French réalisation ‘realization, fulfilment’, from Middle French real ‘actual’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁- ‘to give, bestow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)reh₁-1‘to give, bestow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*reh₁ís2‘wealth, goods’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reis2‘thing, matter’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēs3‘thing, event, deed, fact’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreālis3‘existing in fact, having objective existence’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400reel3
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600real3‘actual’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentréaliser4‘to fulfill (a dream)’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentréalisation5‘realization, fulfilment’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2020realisation5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin res
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French réaliser
  4. 4 Wiktionary, French réalisation
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English realisation
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Christian Wolmar, Wales offers us a glimpse of an integrated transport policy: “A widening of the M4 had long been mooted,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)reh₁-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís‘to give, bestow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*reh₁ísWiktionary, Latin res‘wealth, goods’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reisWiktionary, Latin res‘thing, matter’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēsWiktionary, French réaliser‘thing, event, deed, fact’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreālisWiktionary, French réaliser‘existing in fact, having objective existence’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400reelWiktionary, French réaliser
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600realWiktionary, French réaliser‘actual’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentréaliserWiktionary, French réalisation‘to fulfill (a dream)’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentréalisationWiktionary, English realisation‘realization, fulfilment’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2020realisationWiktionary, English realisation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Christian Wolmar, Wales offers us a glimpse of an integrated transport policy: “A widening of the M4 had long been mooted,…”

Linked words

through Latin rēs ‘thing, event, deed, fact’

re, rebus, 20 more

through Old French reel

surrealism, 3 more

through Middle French real ‘actual’

surreal, 3 more

through French réalisation ‘realization, fulfilment’

realization, 3 more

Today it means

noun —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “realisation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís, Latin res, French réaliser, French réalisation. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁- / realisation

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