Learn English – What’s the literal meaning of “Real Estate”

etymologymeaning

Today I realized that the word "Real" in "Real Estate" might be about "royalty" instead of "reality".

English is a foreign language to me, so I don't really know the literal meaning and origin of the term "Real Estate".

Might "Real" be an alternative term for "Royal"?

Best Answer

The real in real estate (AmE) or real property (BrE) is archaic, meaning of actual or physical things. Real estate is physical property, land and things fixed to the land such as buildings. In contrast, personal property, such as tools or clothing, is not fixed to the land. The Latin root is res, which is generally translated as things.

The alternative theory that the root is rex, i.e. king (from which through various intermediary languages we get royal, regnal, realm, regalia, and so on) does get a lengthy writeup in Wikipedia, however.

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