realm

Etymology

From Middle English rewme, realme, reaume, from Old French reaume, realme (“kingdom”), of unclear origins. A postulated *rēgālimen (“domain, kingdom”), Late Latin or Vulgar Latin cross of regimen with rēgālis is usually cited.

noun

1. An abstract sphere of influence, real or imagined.
   Why should we despise anything in the realm of Buddha? 1907, Tada Kanai, “The World and How to Pass Through It”, in Arthur Lloyd, transl., Seven Buddhist Sermons
   At home in Moscow, Mikhail Sergeyevitch Gorbachev, who had launched a campaign to rejuvenate the Soviet realm […] November 22 2006, Christian Neef, “Diary of a Collapsing Superpower”, in Spiegel Magazine
   In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised. 2013-05-17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19
2. The domain of a certain abstraction.
   One thing more which the scientific man does is to accord primacy to that realm of truth which is primary in importance. 1922, Judson Eber Conant, “Truth Must be Classified Scientifically”, in The Church The Schools and Evolution
3. (computing) A scope of operation in networking or security.
4. (formal or law) A territory or state, as ruled by a specific power, especially by a king.
   And, of this island realm, he and his companion were the undisputed sovereigns. 1874, Horatio Alger, “Chapter XXXI”, in Brave and Bold
   1913, Leslie Alexander Toke, Catholic Encyclopedia, "St. Dunstan", Then seeing his life was threatened he fled the realm and crossed over to Flanders, […]
5. (fantasy, roleplaying games) An otherworldly dimension or domain — magical, ethereal, or otherwise — usually ruled or created by a mystical character.
6. (virology, taxonomy) A taxonomic rank in the phylogeny of viruses, higher than kingdoms.