2. Verifiable as actual fact; that is, legally or scientifically.
3. Existing as fact, rather than as a product of dreams or the imagination.
4. Genuine, true, and original, not artificial, counterfeit, factitious, or synthetic.
5. Prepared or made in a traditional or authentic way, rather than being mass-produced or artificial.
6. Based on fact, observation, or experience and so undisputed; not synthetic or spurious; of real or natural origin.
Real means being in accordance with appearance or a claim, not artificial or counterfeit, and is in this sense often synonymous with genuine; such as, a real (genuine) alibi; real (genuine) money.
7. Used to emphasize the accuracy or appropriateness of a particular thing: "She's a real teacher."8. Being honest or sincere, not feigned or faking.
9. In law, pertaining to things fixed, permanent or immovable; such as, lands and tenements; as real estate, the opposite of personal or movable property.
10. In mathematics, involving, relating to, or having elements of the set of rational or irrational numbers only.
11. Etymology: from the mid-15th century, "relating to things"; especially, property; from Old French, reel; from Late Latin realis, "actual", from Latin res, "matter, thing", of unknown origin.
The meaning of "genuine" is recorded from 1550's; then that of "actually existing" is attested from 1590's. The sense of "unaffected, no-nonsense" is from 1847. Real estate is first recorded in the 1660's and it keeps the oldest English sense of the word.
The noun phrase "real time" is from 1953.
Additional information about the etymology of real
In origin, real comes from the Latin word for “thing”. It’s a surprisingly late introduction into English, only dating for certain from the end of the sixteenth century.
Before then, it would appear that words like palpable, tangible, corporal, and incarnate were used in various of its senses. It seems to have been accepted very quickly, despite there being another word spelled exactly the same with the meaning "royal".
A person should not use the adjective real as a substitute for the adverbs really or very.
The rule is simple: if it is possible to substitute the word very for real in a sentence, then the use of real would be incorrect.
"It's a real diamond" is correct. Here real means genuine, and the sentence would make no sense if anyone substituted very for real.
Such sentences as, "It's a real nice day", "He's real good to his children", "We had a real good time", etc., are considered to be grammatically incorrect.
What is meant is "It's a very (really) nice day", "He's very (really) good to his children", "We had a very (really) good time."
2. To be shocked, confused, and upset; to feel dizzy, to sway: Maude could only reel and stagger from the sudden death of her husband.
When Jennifer went fishing, she had some real pleasure using the reel to pull in the fish.
GDP, gross domestic product, is often measured in real prices to eliminate the effects of inflation.
Ultrasound scanning uses real-time control systems, making results available almost simultaneously with the generation of the input data.
To produce such an image, the data must be recorded quickly over a very short time rather than by accumulation over a longer period.
These are REAL Headlines with double meanings that have appeared in newspapers from around the world. The list was contributed to this newsletter by a friend; otherwise, the source is unknown.
- March Planned For Next August
- Blind Bishop Appointed To See
- Lingerie Shipment Hijacked - Thief Gives Police The Slip
- L.A. Voters Approve Urban Renewal By Landslide
- Patient At Death's Door - Doctors Pull Him Through
- Diaper Market Bottoms Out
- Stadium Air Conditioning Fails - Fans Protest
- Queen Mary Having Bottom Scraped
- Antique Stripper to Display Wares at Store
- Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
- Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
- Fund Set Up for Beating Victim's Kin
- Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years
- Never Withhold Herpes Infection From Loved One
- Autos Killing 110 a Day; Let's Resolve to Do Better
- If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last A While
- Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
- Blind Woman Gets New Kidney from Dad She Hasn't Seen in Years
- Flaming Toilet Seat Causes Evacuation at High School
- Defendants Speech Ends in Long Sentence
- Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
- Stiff Opposition Expected to Casketless Funeral Plan
- Collegians are Turning to Vegetables
- Quarter of a Million Chinese Live on Water
- Farmer Bill Dies in House
- Eye Drops off Shelf
- Reagan Wins on Budget, But More Lies Ahead
- Miners Refuse to Work after Death
- Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
- Two Sisters Reunited after 18 Years in Checkout Counter
- Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
- New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
- Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
- Deaf College Opens Doors to Hearing
- Prosecutor Releases Probe into Undersheriff
- Old School Pillars are Replaced by Alumni
- Sex Education Delayed, Teachers Request Training
And even in Germany-
From the Mendener Zeitung: "748 Männer arbeiten im Rathaus, 312 davon sind Frauen." (748 men work in the city hall of which 312 are women).
From the March 20, 2000, issue of DER SPIEGEL, page 270.
That reminds me of a statement made by George W. Bush a few weeks ago when he was speaking about children and parental responsibilities; especially, of fathers. I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio) and Bush was saying, "Every father is responsible for his or her children."
Was this an extraordinary effort on his part to be PC (politically correct)?