Etymograph

English

semireality

Semireality comes from French réalité ‘reality’, from Latin reālis ‘existing in fact, having objective existence’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís ‘wealth, goods’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)reh₁ís1‘wealth, goods’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reis1‘thing, matter’reconstructed
  3. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēs1‘thing, object, stuff’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreālis1‘existing in fact, having objective existence’
  5. Medieval Latinmodernreālitā1
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentréalité1‘reality’
  7. English1500–presentreality1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2008semireality1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English semireality
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Alessandra Stanley, What Are Friends For? Power and Pain: “The series, along with such like-minded shows as the…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)reh₁ísWiktionary, English semireality‘wealth, goods’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reisWiktionary, English semireality‘thing, matter’reconstructed
  3. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēsWiktionary, English semireality‘thing, object, stuff’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreālisWiktionary, English semireality‘existing in fact, having objective existence’
  5. Medieval LatinmodernreālitāWiktionary, English semireality
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentréalitéWiktionary, English semireality‘reality’
  7. English1500–presentrealityWiktionary, English semireality
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2008semirealityWiktionary, English semireality. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Alessandra Stanley, What Are Friends For? Power and Pain: “The series, along with such like-minded shows as the…”

A compound of semi- + reality

Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one’

Proto-Indo-European *sēmi ‘half’

English semi-

Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís ‘wealth, goods’

…

Late Latin reālis ‘real’

Medieval Latin reālitās

Middle French realité ‘property, possession’

French réalité ‘quality of being real’

English reality

Linked words

through Classical Latin rēs ‘thing, object, stuff’

re, realise, realisation, rebus, 17 more

through Latin reālis ‘existing in fact, having objective existence’

real, 16 more

Today it means

noun Something not quite real, having a partial resemblance to reality.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “semireality”. 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)reh₁ís / semireality

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