purview

noun

pur·​view ˈpər-ˌvyü How to pronounce purview (audio)
1
a
: the body or enacting part of a statute
b
: the limit, purpose, or scope of a statute
2
: the range or limit of authority, competence, responsibility, concern, or intention
3
: range of vision, understanding, or cognizance

Did you know?

It may not be illogical to assume a connection between purview and view, but is there one? Not exactly. Although the two words share a syllable, you’ll find that they have very different histories as viewed in the etymological rearview mirror. Purview comes from purveu, a word often found in the legal statutes of 13th- and 14th-century England. These statutes, written in Anglo-French, regularly open with the phrase purveu est, which translates literally to "it is provided." Purveu in turn comes from porveu, the past participle of the Old French verb porveeir, meaning "to provide." View, on the other hand, comes (via Middle English) from the past participle of another Anglo-French word, veer, meaning "to see," and ultimately from the Latin word vidēre, of the same meaning.

Examples of purview in a Sentence

After the true shock and awe of a campaign of massive surplus, as in the Gulf War, no regime would have risked its survival by failing to go after the terrorists within its purview. Mark Helprin, Wall Street Journal, 17 May 2004
It is the use of informal, back channels outside public or congressional purview—designed partly to thwart publicity and partly to hold down the temperature of disputes within the government—that critics say denies the protections of open government. Bob Woodward et al., Washington Post, 20-26 Jan. 1992
… the contemporary university, though, has reached beyond the purview of education, and it has thereby become entangled in problems it lacks the means to resolve. Louis Menand, Harper's, December 1991
The case is within the court's purview. That question is outside my purview. The moral dilemmas of the early settlers are beyond the purview of this book.
Recent Examples on the Web While many argued that the issue fell outside of the council’s purview. Luis Melecio-Zambrano, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 Cybersecurity defense strategies, implementation and monitoring fall under the purview of the CISO, who must closely coordinate with other members of the C-suite as well as boards of directors. Ethan Caldwell, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 For decades, space had been considered the purview of only a handful of government agencies. Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2024 Home-schooling in the 1990s, at least in the United States, was largely insular, and mostly the purview of conservative evangelical Christians with views that could appear extreme even to others in the same pew. Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024 Two years ago, even human resources came directly under Horst’s purview. Simon Mainwaring, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Donley’s purview skews toward the macros — the trunks, the trucks, the carriage of cargo across a network of crews and depots. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024 Such an arrest would also be out of the purview of Delta Force, a secretive special mission group that focuses on counterterrorism missions abroad. Nate Trela, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024 Churchtown Dairy was founded in 2012 by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the granddaughter of the business magnate John D. Rockefeller, but the property has been under her family’s purview for decades. Arielle Gordon Alexandra Genova, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'purview.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English purveu, from Anglo-French purveu est it is provided (opening phrase of a statute)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of purview was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near purview

Cite this Entry

“Purview.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purview. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

purview

noun
pur·​view ˈpər-ˌvyü How to pronounce purview (audio)
1
: the body of a statute or the part that begins with Be it enacted and ends before the repealing clause
2
: the limit or scope of a law
Etymology

Anglo-French purveu est it is provided (opening phrase of a statute)

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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