English
realization
Realization comes from French réalisation ‘realization, fulfilment’.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentréalisation1‘realization, fulfilment’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025realization1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English realization
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon: “The realization of -nd as -nn- is not uncommon…”.
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentréalisationWiktionary, English realization‘realization, fulfilment’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025realizationWiktionary, English realization. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon: “The realization of -nd as -nn- is not uncommon…”
A compound of real ‘real’ + réaliser ‘to direct (a movie)’
Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁- ‘to give’
Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís ‘wealth, goods’
Proto-Italic *reis ‘thing, matter’
Classical Latin rēs ‘thing, object, stuff’
Latin reālis ‘actual, substantial, that actually exists’
Old French reel
French real ‘real’
Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁- ‘to give’
Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís ‘wealth, goods’
Proto-Italic *reis ‘thing, matter’
Classical Latin rēs ‘thing, object, stuff’
Latin reālis ‘actual, substantial, that actually exists’
Old French reel
French real ‘real’
French réaliser ‘to direct (a movie)’
Linked words
through French réalisation ‘realization, fulfilment’
Today it means
noun The act of realizing, as: An act of figuring out or becoming aware.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “realization”. 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 / French réalisation / realization